Midnight
by 11nagrom
Summary: Regina is up in the night with their newborn, Emma wakes up and watches her. '"You two are stunning," Emma whispered. Regina looked at her lovingly, feeling a wave of warm familial hormones. She tilted her head back and kissed Emma's cheek.' Swanqueen new baby/family fluff. Was just a oneshot, now going to be a mini ficlet. Super cute! Not much more to say.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Just a cute Swanqueen baby/family oneshot. Regina gave birth to this new baby so plot-wise I suppose that makes this AU. I'm not going into detail of how the baby could have been made, she's just there. I absolutely loved writing this fluff so I hope you enjoy reading it just as much.  
**

* * *

The saviour opened her eyes and glanced around the dimly lit room. Her face softened as she saw the dark silhouette of her wife stood by the window. Her arms were cradled around their newborn. The top of their daughter's head just peeking over her shoulder. Her eyes were closed.

Emma watched her wife rock the infant gently as she stared sleepily out of the window. She looked exhausted. "Hey, baby," she said softly from the bed.

Regina looked over her shoulder and gave her a soft smile. "Are you talking to me or the child, dear?"

"You, actually." Emma got out of bed and tiptoed across the padded floor. It was definitely the early hours of the morning. Regina would be exhausted tomorrow. "How long have you been up with her?" The sheriff placed a greeting hand on her hip from behind.

"A couple of hours." The brunette sleepily rested her back against Emma's front as the blonde wrapped her arms around her stomach. The saviour swayed them both gently, meanwhile pressing loving kisses to her exposed shoulder.

"Do you know why she woke?" Emma asked, muffled against her shoulder.

"Hungry I believe. I fed her and she's just drifted off. It took a long time."

The tiny baby was wearing a green onesie and her body was curled against the former mayor, tiny chest to chest.

"You two are stunning," Emma whispered. Regina looked at her lovingly, feeling a wave of warm familial hormones. She tilted her head back and kissed Emma's cheek.

"We have such a beautiful family."

"This would be even more picturesque if the kid was here right now. But I'm not gonna wake him up."

"Yes, dear. Better not."

Emma rested her chin again on Regina's shoulder, glancing down at their sleeping newborn. "I can't believe how tiny she is. How gorgeous she is."

"She's perfect," the former mayor said fondly. Their child scrunched up her nose slightly in her sleep before relaxing her features. The baby always slept best against warm skin. They knew already how much the infant appreciated having two mothers. From the second she was in either of their arms listening to their heartbeats, she was out like a light. "I should put her in her cot right now, but I honestly don't want to."

"I don't blame you," Emma smiled. "What were you looking at?"

"Just the town. It's so peaceful at night. I love the tranquil."

Emma nodded with agreement before tilting her head to take in Regina's tired features. She planted a kiss to her cheek before saying, "but I still think you should sleep. You're going to be exhausted tomorrow. It must be around 3am."

"It's four actually," Regina said with light amusement. The baby was too gorgeous for her to feel spiteful for their awakening. She'd felt just the same about Henry. Emma seemed to have the same effect too...

"Sweetheart, go to bed. She'll still be here tomorrow."

Regina nodded, watching their baby snooze for a moment. She finally stepped backwards and Emma let go of her, sad at the loss of contact. The brunette gently placed their baby down in the crib. She turned around to see Emma watching her.

Rubbing her raw eyes, the former mayor stepped over to her and enveloped her in a close hug. Emma held her tight, savouring the natural spiced apple scent that was so uniquely Regina.

The brunette pulled away and cupped her cheeks. She leant forward and kissed her deeply. Emma held her close as their tongues connected.

Regina laughed against her mouth. "Not in front of the baby. We'll give her nightmares."

Emma chuckled and pulled away. "She's asleep! And don't worry, I don't want to keep you up longer. Let's cuddle up and sleep."

"I'm aware that you'd probably like to do more than cuddle... _You're practically a walking hormone_. I'm quite awake, I wouldn't object entirely _, dear."_ The mayor smirked, planting a further kiss to her lips.

"Well, when you flatter me to well..." The savior laughed. She composed herself and shook her head, knowing Regina's tiredness came first. _"_ Trust me, this is extreme selflessness here, because I want you. I always want you. But I love and care for you more. So we are just sleeping, okay?"

Regina nodded with a sleepy smile. She was incredibly lucky to have the family that she had, all such opposites in personality but somehow, it really just worked. They headed over to their sides of the bed and got in. It wasn't long before their legs were touching, then their arms, and soon they were completely cuddled up. Regina's head on Emma's chest as she held her close.

* * *

Emma awoke yet again as it had just begun to get light, she felt the absence in the bed. Checking her phone she groaned as it read 05:59a.m. Yet again she found her wife in the room with their baby. She was breast feeding this time.

"She woke up again?" Emma asked with concern.

Regina jumped a little, unaware that Emma was awake but nodded. "I didn't give her a lot before because she gets sick sometimes, doesn't she?"

Emma nodded. "I'll never forget the two nights in a row where I got regurgitated breast milk in my face."

"Yeah, it certainly slowed our libidos for a little while..."

Emma chuckled a little and then thought about how tired she was. If she was tired, Regina must be beyond exhausted. As she looked at her she noticed with the morning light that the rings below her eyes had rings themselves.

"Baby, you need to sleep."

"Well she's not done yet and she won't go back down until she is."

"At least come and sit in the bed. That way I'll know you're warm."

Regina nodded and stood, still holding her tiny daughter against her. Emma lifted up the cover and she slipped under it in a sitting position. Emma rubbed her back and watched their baby, occasionally using her free hand to tickle the child's teeny fingers.

After a long moment, something else caught her eye. How had she not noticed this? "I can't believe how big your breasts have gotten," she said with amazement. With first all the preparations and then the baby arriving, she'd had little time to really look at the woman she loved the way she used to. To admire every curve and dip of her body.

"She needs to be fed somehow, dear. Try not to ogle too much."

"It was merely an observation," the saviour smiled sleepily.

Regina lay down and watched with content as their baby pulled away and immediately fell asleep in the middle of her chest.

The former mayor closed her eyes blissfully, the pull of slumber becoming more and more tempting. Emma watched lovingly as her wife started to drift off. She looked at the bunched up vest above her chest, resting just above the baby's head.

Emma took the hem of the vest and pulled it up. She lifted Regina's arm through the gap to take it off and the woman smiled sleepily.

"Thank you," she hummed with her eyes closed. She raised her arm to let Emma ease the rest of the vest off. "Would you like the baby?" Regina asked quietly.

"No, she looks very happy where she is. As long as you're okay with her there."

Regina nodded and outstretched her hand, lips curling as Emma took it. The three slept soundly.

* * *

"Jeez, mom!" Henry outburst, shielding his eyes.

Emma woke up, saw Regina and laughed. "Sorry, kid. She fed Isla during the night." The saviour raised the duvet up over her wife and the baby. Up to their daughter's shoulders. "You can look now."

He eased his hand away, still grimacing. "Can't you be a bit more careful?"

"In her defence, it is our bed. And the baby's gotta eat, kid. You're gonna have to get used to her boobs." Emma shrugged as if it was obvious.

"I think the image is burned to my mind."

"She has a nice body." Emma frowned. She didn't mean it in a sexual sense, merely a factual one, as if all should appreciate it thoughtlessly. Maybe not her son. That was understandable. "Did you never see her naked when you were little?"

"This is a weird conversation and no. I think she had baths with me as a baby but she must have stopped at some point because I don't remember ever seeing her naked and I'd like to keep it that way."

Regina opened her eyes with the most confused expression. "What the hell are you talking about!?"

Henry blushed a little. "Nevermind."

She looked at her wife. "What!? I heard everything he said before."

"You flashed him a little before. I was just trying to calm him down a bit."

The mayor looked down at Isla on her chest, her tiny face contorting into different expressions within her slumber. Her _bare_ chest, she realised. "Ah," she said. "I'm sorry, dear. I fell asleep after feeding Isla."

"Is she still asleep?"

Regina lifted the duvet and Emma looked, watching their sleeping child nuzzle against her breast. The saviour smiled and leaned her hand across, stroking their daughter's cheek with the back of her finger.

"Woah, guys, really?" Henry said with irritation.

"Jeez kid, I'm just touching the baby!" Ironically Emma rested her hand down on Regina's breast as she complained. The former mayor smiled at that.

"Okay, kid, how about you and I take Isla and we let your mom here actually get some sleep."

Regina nodded and passed the sleeping infant to Emma. Her eyes were just starting to open anyway. The saviour stood, walked around the bed, leant down and kissed her wife. "I love you. Sleep well, honey."

Regina blushed at the affection. She nodded and watched as Emma, Henry and Isla left the room. How blessed she was.

* * *

"She's been up half the night," Emma explained as they chewed their toast. She was holding Isla in a body sling against her chest. The baby had yet again drifted back off to sleep. Apparently she wanted to catch up on her interrupted night as well.

Henry nodded. "She looked really tired. Why'd you bring Isla down?"

"I didn't want her to cry and wake her up. Your mom always forces herself to do everything, even when she has nothing left herself. I love her for that but I wish she'd take it easy."

"I think she was like that with me. She told me I barely slept as a baby. She'd be up half the night every night I think."

Emma rested her cheek down on her palm, thinking about the ever loving brunette in the room above. The mayor always said she saw Henry as a gift from the woman. Emma realised she'd never actually said how grateful she was for her raising him.

"You're a lucky kid," the saviour said thoughtfully.

"I know." He nodded.

* * *

Three hours had passed and Emma decided to venture upstairs to see if the woman had awoken yet. She'd given Isla to Henry for a little while. The baby was rested, fed and happy so it shouldn't have been a problem.

As she stood in the doorway with crossed arms, the former mayor opened her eyes. The thick white duvet had slipped down again to reveal her olive torso. She looked radiant.

"Hello, dear," the woman said as she rubbed her eyes.

"You're so beautiful," Emma muttered.

"Not this again," Regina smiled.

"It's true." The saviour stepped over to her and crawled into the bed. She was just wearing a sweater and leggings, perfect cuddle clothes.

"What are you planning here?"

Emma put her hands up in defence as she shuffled closer. "I just want to hold you. Henry made me think about some things earlier."

Regina looked at her with concern. Outstretching her arm to wrap around the woman. Her top half was still bare. "What did he say?"

"We were talking about you and Isla and he said you used to stay up all night for him as a baby. That he barely slept. It reminded me that I never actually thanked you for raising Henry. I mean, he's such a great kid and-"

Regina smiled and shook her head, placing a finger to the other woman's lips. "You don't have to thank me, sweetheart. He's our child."

Emma kissed her finger a couple of times. "Just know that I'm thankful."

Regina nodded. "Now, cuddle me." She rolled on top of the blonde in an instant. Emma laughed and wrapped her arms around the woman's bare back.

"You're too cute. Look at you with your little pyjama bottoms. Who knew i'd get you to wear flannel one day."

Regina looked at saviour. "That secret stays between these four walls."

"I wish that sentence weren't about _flannel_ ," Emma laughed. Their foreheads touched and soon their lips met too.

Emma's hands cupped the woman's ass, squeezing slightly.

"Can I help you?" Regina raised her eyebrows.

"If only the kids weren't downstairs..."

"Another time, dear." The brunette smiled softy. She could never get over the love she saw in the saviour's eyes, the adoration. She didn't understand it but it made her heart feel heavier with love in return every day. Their family was perfect.

Emma nodded and planted a kiss on her nose. "Did I tell you you're gorgeous?" She laughed.

Regina rolled her eyes and smiled. "You're stunning yourself, dear."

"Love me forever?"

The mayor's smile widened and she blushed. She looked Emma in the eye and returned a single nod. "Of course."

* * *

 **AN: Cringe;). I just wanted to do something sickly sweet to make up for my other darker fics. If anyone really wants me to continue this, I might.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Since you all seemed to like the 'oneshot' I posted, I decided to continue this a little. I don't think it will be a long fic, a few chapters at the most. I think i'll jump through their daughter's life, just a few different age scenarios/events. If anyone has any suggestions/prompts for this little fic, I'd be more than happy to accept them. Don't be shy!**

 **Thank you for such kind feedback in the last chapter, I hope you find this chapter just as cute! Enjoy! :)**

* * *

"How do you fancy doing something today?" The former mayor asked her family. Isla had just turned one and was sitting in her high chair happily smushing puréed food across the shelf.

Emma was chuckling as she fed their blonde child with a tiny spoon. The infant had blonde slightly curly hair and rosy cheeks. Her eyes however, were dark like Regina's with beautiful long eyelashes. She was stunning. "Sounds good," Emma replied.

Henry nodded in agreement as he took a bite of his sandwich. "What do you have in mind?"

"Perhaps going to the park? We could walk around the lake, Isla hasn't been there yet."

Henry nodded and smiled, looking at his baby sister. She tried to smile back and ended up just spitting purée out. Henry grimaced and everyone laughed.

"She's an attractive little one," Emma grinned. Her eyes met with Regina's and they shared a smile.

"She takes after you, dear."

"Hey!"

Henry laughed and stood up to put his plate in the sink. "I'm gonna go grab a jumper, I'll be down in a sec."

Both mothers nodded and watched him leave the room. Regina stood also and put her own plate in the sink. She looked over to see that Emma had only taken one bite out of her sandwich so far, having been so distracted by their child.

"Are you going to eat at some point today, dear?" Regina raised an eyebrow.

Emma looked down at her abandoned sandwich. "Oh! Yeah," she smiled, picking it up with her left hand. Regina walked around the table and ran her hands down through Emma's hair from behind. She leant down and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

The saviour smiled and glanced up at her. "What was that for?"

"I just love you."

Emma smiled brightly up at her. "I love you too. We're pretty lucky aren't we?"

Regina nodded, her hands resting on the blonde's shoulders. "Very much so. Blessed even."

Emma nodded and looked up at her. "Are you okay?"

Regina nodded. "Of course. Just happy." She leant down and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Are you worried about anything?" She glanced at Isla for a moment to check she was still content before standing up so she could properly face the brunette.

Regina glanced down for a second with a frown before meeting her eye with a pleasant smile.

"You just did it again, I saw you!"

"Did what, dear?"

"We've talked about this. Schooling your features. You don't have to do that with me. And I know you well enough to catch you out when you do."

Regina looked at her lovingly, still surprised at quite how well the quirky blonde knew her. "I'm sorry, dear." She smiled properly this time. "I just don't want to burden you with my anxieties."

"You could never burden me with anything." She planted a kiss to her nose and then to her lips. "What anxieties are those?"

"You know when things are just going too well?" At Emma's nod she continued, "I know I probably need to change the record by now but usually it seems that I'm not allowed to be happy for this long. It makes me afraid that something awful is about to happen and that it's just a waiting game."

"Regina, this is a big deal, why didn't you talk to me about this?" She raised her hand and cupped her cheek.

The brunette looked down, feeling vulnerable. "It's just a constant fear, I suppose."

"One in which we should go through together, my darling. I have anxieties too, I do know how you're feeling."

The brunette nodded and met her eye. She leant forward and kissed the blonde deeply, hands cradling her neck. "Thank you," she whispered afterwards.

"For what?" Emma looked into her eyes as they still held each other.

"Just for loving me, I suppose."

Emma laughed at the statement. It was obvious to her, thoughtless. She was deeply in love with Regina and there wasn't a doubt in her mind. There never had been. "Baby, I love you to the moon and back and always will. You know that?"

Regina smiled at the affection and nodded. She was just feeling a little insecure. It always came and went in waves.

"Speaking of..." Emma turned and picked up their baby. Regina laughed at the mess around her face and picked up a wet wipe. She cleaned the mush away before planting a kiss on her daughter's damp cheek.

"And words can't describe how much Isla loves you," Emma grinned. "The way that she looks at you takes me aback every day."

"She looks at you like that too, dear," Regina responded as she stroked their child's tiny hand gently. The baby's other hand was absentmindedly resting on Emma's neck as the blonde rocked them both.

Regina leant forward and kissed the saviour again above the baby's head. Emma paused her swaying movements and grinned as she reciprocated the kiss. She wrapped her spare arm around Regina's back to hold the three of them together.

Henry strolled into the room and winced with a smile before walking back out again. He loved that his mother's were together, and it had been great fun watching the whole process occur over the years, but he hated seeing their make-out sessions. It would be scarring for any son. Or anyone, for that matter.

"Kid!" Emma laughed upon catching him leave through the corner of her eye. "Kid, come back. We're sorry."

Regina chuckled and gently squeezed Emma's hip before going to find him. "Henry?"

" _Shall we go_?" he said brightly from the hall. His favourite method of overcoming the scarring scenes was to pretend they never happened and move on. That way his parents wouldn't talk about his 'feelings' or 'how adults love each other in certain ways'. He was sixteen and had endured more than enough painful conversations on their 'loving' to last a lifetime. He should never have walked into his mother's bedroom that time when he was twelve. That had warranted nearly a year of therapy... And far too many 'talks'.

Regina adjusted the stroller and put in the other sachets of puréed fruit for a snack if Isla were to need one. She dropped in a couple of bottles of water, put on her own shoes and then helped Emma strap the baby in. The saviour put on her sneakers and they headed to the lake.

* * *

"I love autumn," Emma smiled as thick leaves crunched beneath her shoes.

"Well it's finally the correct season for your jumper addiction, dear,"'Regina smirked as she pushed the stroller along the lightly graveled path. Henry was a few paces in front kicking pebbles with his shoes.

"Jumpers are great for all seasons, I'll have you know!" The saviour put her hands on her hips.

Regina was wearing black slacks (she still dressed formally outside of the house no matter how much Emma tried to dress her down), a black top, a burgundy coat and a long woollen red scarf. Emma was even more underdressed than usual with only a white jumper and a pair of skinny jeans. It having only just turned autumn, the air was still relatively warm.

Emma smiled as she took in Regina's outfit. "Hey, you look so cute and snuggled up."

"I believe you mistake me for the baby sometimes."

"No, you're both equally as cute."

"I don't know whether to be alarmed or flattered, dear."

"Flattered." Emma hopped towards her, planting a kiss to her cheek and then almost immediately galloped away after Henry.

Regina looked down at Isla in amusement. "I swear your mommy is still a child too, baby." The infant looked up upon hearing the sound of her voice and smiled widely. The pair watched as Emma and Henry ran around racing each other, shoving each other and attempting to skim rocks on the lake, now at a little bit of a distance.

"They're fast, aren't they?" Regina said to her child.

Isla looked up at her again before glancing back at the charismatic pair far in front of them.

"Fast, fast, fast," Regina observed aloud for their daughter as the two distantly messed around.

"Fast," Isla said softly.

Regina's lips parted in shock and she stopped the buggy. "What did you say?" Realising the child could not yet understand English, she instead tried, "fast?"

Isla nodded with a grin. "Fast! Fast, fast, fass, fast, fass, fast!" Her small hand outstretched and pointed triumphantly.

"Oh my goodness!" Regina exclaimed with tears in her eyes. "Isla, you said your first word!" She mainly said it to try and absorb the information herself. She dropped down, squatting beside their daughter so that they were eye level. "Fast!"

Isla giggled again and looked at her. She outstretched her tiny hand and touched Regina's face absentmindedly, no obvious destination plan. She patted at her cheeks as Regina laughed as the child ran her hand down her nose and onto her lips. The former mayor laughed and planted a kiss on her cute hand before the baby finally retreated it.

"Emma!" Regina shouted out. "Henry, come here!"

The two looked over and jogged back, intrigued as to why the brunette was bent down.

"What's up," Emma said breathlessly as she jogged over to her, Henry at her side.

"Isla said her first word!"

"What!?" Both Emma and Henry exclaimed.

"What was it?" The saviour asked excitedly.

Regina met Isla's eye again and smiled. "What did you say, baby? That got me so excited? What were they?"

Isla pointed to a duck in the complete opposite direction to where the pair were before and shouted, "fast!"

"Fast?" Henry laughed. "...why? That duck isn't even moving."

"It doesn't matter what she thinks 'fast' is, it matters that she said it!" Emma shouted before dropping down to her knees and peppering the baby's cheek with kisses. "You go, baby girl!"

Isla giggled at all the faces around her and proceeded to poke at Emma's now too. It was her current favourite hobby. At least it was better than her extreme hair pulling phase. That girl had strength. It was an odd first word, but both mothers were ridiculously proud of her. Isla was a surprisingly quiet baby, preferring sleep now over noise on most occasions. The infant tried her best to take as many naps as her parents would allow her, loving the comfortable pull of slumber without knowing it.

* * *

"Dinner at that cafe?" Regina suggested. It was turning dusk now and the four had been out all day. The weather had thankfully held, they'd managed to feed the ducks and get around the lake. It had been lovely and the park always looked beautiful around this time of year.

"Yes!" Emma said more excitedly than anyone else. "I'm starving!"

Henry raised his eyebrows at her. "I would never have guessed by the other four hundred times you've told me today..."

"Alright, Mr. Sass!" She shoved him and he smirked. Regina rolled her eyes at them. They'd become quite the mischievous duo over the years, always either playing jokes on one another or on her. They were often all crying with laughter at the end of most of them, Regina loved Emma's playfulness anyway. Her light always seemed to brighten their house. It was interesting to see the saviour's two sides, amazing really. The blonde could easily slide between the surprisingly sophisticated mother and loving wife into an ever-hungry, comically childish _goofball_. It seemed Henry enjoyed the latter, Regina adored the saviour's mix of both.

They ordered their dinners, a variation of toasties, bake potatoes, fries and Isla's usual flavorsome mush. All had rather different tastes. Despite all the exciting foods around her, Isla was left with her puréed meal in a bowl. However, she was actually willing to eat it for once, the change in surroundings deceptively making the child believe this was new food. _Nice_ food.

* * *

It was verging on nine when Regina sat down on the couch and placed two steaming mugs down on the coffee table. She slid one over to her son and he smiled, picking up the hot chocolate.

"Thanks, mom."

Emma was changing Isla and getting her ready for bed. Her crib was still within their bedroom as both were still a little too attached to properly move her into her room. They didn't want the infant to sleep alone just yet. Both women had known loneliness and neither wanted Isla to ever feel that, even as an infant.

"Henry?" She crossed one leg over the other.

"Yes?"

"Do you ever get jealous of Isla? You know, the attention she requires."

He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Not this again..."

She smiled and decided to bring her legs up onto the couch, tucking them under herself. "I mean it, dear. I haven't asked you in a while. I know that you used to like it just being the three of us."

"It's different, yes, but Isla's amazing. I wouldn't trade her for anything."

"I'm glad you feel that way," she smiled.

"How are you?" Henry asked curiously. It wasn't often that he even had a chance to ask her that.

"I'm very well, dear."

"It's nice seeing you so happy. You deserve it."

Regina looked at him fondly, he always found a way to soothe her still healing soul. "Thank you, dear. I am very happy."

"Apart from the making-out; I love how in love you are with Emma. It's still nice to watch the way you look at each other."

"I apologise for the making-out, dear. I know it's troubling for you." She smirked guiltily. "But yes, I am very much in love with her. Somehow how I still find new things to love about her every day."

" _Awwww_ ," Emma Swan interrupted from the doorway with a playful, somewhat teasing tone. Henry laughed and shook his head as she skipped over to the brunette, wrapped her arms around her neck from behind and assaulted her cheek and jaw with kisses.

"Oh, get off!" Regina laughed and tried to swat her away. "There I was trying to be nice and you had to ruin it!"

"Aw, but you're just too damn cute, 'Gina!"

Regina looked at her incredulously. "What have I told you about calling me that?"

"That you love it, just like how you love your new flannel PJ's and want me to tell everyone." The saviour smirked, their cheeks together as Emma remained leaning over her.

Henry rolled his eyes at their playful antics. "People never believe me when I say how childish you two are together. Grandma needs to see this... You two play 'adult' whenever they're here."

"' _Play adult_ '?" Emma scoffed. "Rude. We are highly mature adults. Regina lesser so, _but what can you do_?" Emma fake sighed. At this point the mayor flicked her wrist, disappeared, and reappeared on the armchair causing Emma to fall down in a lump onto the sofa. "Hey!"

Henry cracked up laughing, shaking his head in disbelief.

"That was so not fair!" Emma outraged as she reorganized herself to be lying on the sofa, neck craned to look at Regina.

The brunette was smiling devilishly. "I warned you, dear."

"On that note," Henry stood with a smile, "I think i'll leave you two to your magical flirting. Goodnight."

"Night, kid," Emma smiled as her son bent down and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, dear," Regina smiled and hugged him goodnight as he reached her. They watched as he left the room with content and heard him head to his own room.

"I think we scared him off," Emma smirked. "Our chemistry is just too damn good."

"You never were a humble one, dear." Regina chuckled and got up to sit with her. She lifted Emma's legs, still in jeans, and sat down, resting them back down on her lap. She squeezed her calves and looked at her. "Did Isla go down okay?"

"Yeah," the blonde nodded. "All the excitement must have really tired her out today."

"So, 'fast', hey?" Regina smiled, fondly remembering the exciting event.

"Fast. I wonder what it means. Maybe one day she'll be a track star."

"Perhaps," she smiled. "She's definitely going to be something special. She has magic in her veins."

"That's an understatement, I think she's going to be a hella magical kid. I dread to think what she's going to get up to."

"'Hella'? Your literary skills never cease to astound me, _dear._ "

"Oh, be quiet and kiss me," Emma smirked, sitting up so they were face to face with her legs still across Regina's lap. At Regina's tiny nod, Emma connected their lips, instantly raising her palm to cradle her jaw. Almost instinctively, the pair leaned down so they were laying together on the couch, their lips never ceasing their attachment. _"Regina Mills._ " Emma raised her eyebrows as the former mayor began to assault her neck with her mouth.

Regina looked up with a sly grin only to say, _"That's Regina Mills-Swan to you, dear."_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I'm enjoying writing this so much so I'm so glad you're enjoying it! A bit of a time jump here but ah well, it's necessesary and I'm sure you'll love it! I love hearing your feedback so thank you to all who have left such kind reviews.**

* * *

"Ah she's so damn cute!" Emma yelped. Their daughter, now nearly four, was wearing a ladybug costume. It was Halloween.

Regina couldn't help but grin as she adjusted their daughters wings. "You look beautiful, baby," the brunette said to the child.

"I love it!" She smiled widely. The child had almost grown a full set of teeny white teeth.

"You're the best ladybug in the whole world," Emma grinned, picking their baby up. Isla nuzzled into Emma's neck affectionately, her small hands wrapped around her.

Regina smiled and rubbed her palm on their daughter's back. Emma grinned at the two and reached out to pull Regina against her side, her free arm resting on the brunette's hip.

While still rubbing Isla's back Regina placed a kiss on Emma's cheek. "Alright you two, I'm going to go check Henry's happy with his."

"Okay," the saviour nodded, watching her go. "Look at your cute mommy dressed as a bee." Regina was wearing a yellow and black dress with a headband antennae, at Isla's request of course. You'd never guess the woman had once ruled a realm.

Isla smiled and nodded. "Bug family!"

"Yes," Emma nodded. "Well, except for Henry. He's going as a vampire."

"I remember his talk with mommy."

"What talk?"

"About the girl he loves, Grace."

"Grace!?"

Isla grinned and nodded proudly.

"He didn't tell me he liked Grace!"

"She likes vampires."

"Oh, that makes far more sense. I was wondering why he was so set on being one."

* * *

"Breathe, Henry," Regina chuckled as she found Henry stood before the hallway mirror. "She's going to love it, dear."

Henry visibly exhaled and a blush came to his cheeks. He looked so anxious. "Are you sure?"

Regina put her hands on his shoulders and nodded to him in the mirror. "Don't be scared, she's just a girl, sweetheart."

"Exactly! She's a girl, that's the scary part. I don't even know what to say to her. What do we talk about?"

"Henry, you live with two women and a younger sister. This anxiety is unnecessary. We're not aliens, dear."

"I'm just scared I'll mess up and say something wrong."

Emma walked over to the pair, still holding Isla. "Then you mess up." She shrugged. "It's as simple as that. It won't be the end of the world. If your mom and I can fight for three solid years and still manage to get married then you can handle making an unfunny joke."

"You're right, mom," he smiled. "You two are the prime example of a car crash beginning..."

"Gee, thanks, dear," Regina raised an eyebrow incredulously.

Henry met her eye and smiled. "You know what I mean." He turned around and gave his bee parent a quick hug before waving the other goodbye and jogging down the stairs to his party.

"Mommy, you need to put your costume on!" Isla suddenly squealed to Emma.

Emma winced at the sound, her lips curling into a humoured smile. "I'll go now. I'll be quick, I promise!" She placed her ladybug child down, leaving her with Regina and darted into the bedroom.

Ten minutes later Regina knocked on the still closed bedroom door. "What's taking you so long, dear?"

At a muffled groan, Regina chuckled and opened the door. Their daughter was in her own bedroom choosing an adequate trick-or-treating bag.

Emma was stood before their bedroom mirror with a deeply unimpressed expression and glittery butterfly wings on her back.

"Oh dear." Regina smirked at the sight.

Emma stuck her bottom lip out petulantly and turned to face Regina. "I look ridiculous," she whined.

"You look very cute, dear."

"Then why are you still laughing!?"

"I'm laughing at your attitude. Isn't Isla supposed to be the child?"

"Isla's not the one who's supposed to save Storybrooke so damn often! The two of us, we have an image to uphold!"

"You're starting to sound like that old mayor of Storybrooke. Remember her?"

Emma realised then what she must have sounded like and nodded. "I'm sorry. I just look so awkward."

Regina pulled her in for a kiss. "You look beautiful. And it's Isla's first time properly trick-or-treating. Let's make it special."

"Of course." Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's neck. "You are the cutest bee I've ever seen." At Regina's modest smile, Emma leant forward and connected their lips once again. They barely managed to steal ten seconds when the sound of and outraged toddler caused them to pull apart. She was stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "Bugs don't kiss!"

Emma laughed. "I'm sorry but these ones do!" She planted a final kiss on Regina's cheek to prove her point before pulling away. She went to the mirror and put some glittery eyeshadow on her eyelids as a finishing touch. "Right, I'm ready! Shall we go?"

* * *

"Candyyyyy!" Isla grinned devilishly as she poured her winnings out onto the living room coffee table.

Emma widened her eyes at the vast quantity their child had acquired over the evening. Apparently there was more candy than kids in Storybrooke.

"You won't be having all that tonight, baby," the saviour said, knowing that needed to be established soon. "Let's save some."

Isla frowned. "I don't want to!" The blonde had been secretly slipping sweets into her mouth all night and the sugar had only just hit her brain.

"Mommy's going to agree with me too, Isla."

"Where is she!?" Isla widened her eyes over dramatically.

"Picking up Henry, baby. It's okay," Emma chuckled at her little frown. She picked up the child and slid her onto her lap, wrapping her arms around her tummy.

"When will they be homeeeee?"

"Soon." Emma bit her lip as her child wouldn't stop bouncing her legs in her lap rapidly. "God, you've had way too much candy. Your mom's gonna kill me."

"She won't kill you, she loves you!"

"I hope she remembers that..."

"Play with me!?" Isla jumped up quickly, bare feet now on Emma's thighs.

"Hrmph," Emma groaned at the quick pain. "What do you wanna play?"

"Can I climb on you?"

Emma chuckled. "I'd rather you didn't..."

Isla took this as not a definitive 'no' and chose to catapult herself over Emma's shoulder while giggling. The saviour rolled her eyes and tickled at her sides, laughing as the girl squirmed.

"Mommyyyy!" Isla giggled, scrambling to escape the hands. She pushed off the back of the couch and fell down the saviour's front, upside down now. With a smile Emma grabbed her hips so the child had the top of her head on her lap, laying vertically, still squealing.

Regina and Henry chose that convenient moment to get home, soon entering the living room.

"What on earth are you doing?" Regina raised an eyebrow at the pair. She tilted her head upside down so she could meet her daughter's eye. She was only met with gleeful giggles.

"This mischievous little ladybug was climbing all over me," Emma shook the upside down girl for emphasis.

"Henry, help me!" The girl cried out with giggles. Henry smirked and jogged over, retrieving her nonchalantly. He twisted his sister the right way up and placed her down on the ground. The small bug's flush finally began to fade as she regained her own gravity. She giggled and high-fived her brother.

"Thank you!" She grinned. "Best vampire ever!"

Regina crossed her arms as she stared down her wife. "Isn't it a little late for this much excitement?"

"It's Halloween, she's hyper. She's had tons of candy!"

"And whose fault is that?"

"Um, _not mine_? Like I said, it's Halloween..."

" _Emma_ ," Regina sighed. She knew it would be impossible to get Isla to bed tonight and it had only been Emma together with their daughter for the past half hour.

"Mommies!" Isla whined sadly. Regina turned to look at her. "Please don't fight!"

Regina's face softened as she looked at her two unimpressed children. "We're not fighting."

Henry squeezed his sister's shoulder and said, "Isla, you should have seen them before... There was this one time with a chainsaw when-"

" _Henry,_ " Regina warned him, cutting him off sharpish.

Though her brother's point was supposed to be reassuring, her frown only deepened worriedly.

Emma noticed this and got up, heading to them. She picked her daughter up, placing the girl on her hip. "Baby, I still love your mommy. If we argue about something it doesn't mean we don't love each other."

Isla sustained her frown, looking at Regina for further confirmation.

"She's right, sweetheart," the brunette said. "I promise. I could never stay mad at her."

"Not now anyway..." Henry added. At Regina's more severe warning glare he raised his arms defensively. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"You promise?" Isla asked. "Because Henry's always saying you two used to fight lots."

"Kid," Emma looked at him sadly. "You know that'll upset her."

"I just make the occasional joke, it's hardly all the time."

"Is it something you worry about?" Emma asked him, "that we could relapse into that one day?"

"No. And this is hardly the time to talk about this," Henry looked at his sister.

Both parents nodded with concern. He hadn't been very convincing.

"Isla," Regina decided to resume their previous conversation. She held the girl's small hand in her own as she smiled reassuringly. "I love mommy very much and nothing's ever going to change that." She leant forward and placed a kiss on Emma's cheek. "See?"

Seemingly convinced, Isla nodded and smiled once again. "See, Henry?" she said. "Boys suck!"

"Hey!" He said defensively. "Last time I'm saving you, sis..."

Isla only stuck her tongue out and wriggled for Emma to put her down. She grabbed her brother's hand and darted off towards the staircase, giggling all the way.

All they heard was a distant, "what are you doing!" from their son and then two pairs of feet jogging up the stairs.

Emma crossed her arms and sighed sleepily. "That took an unexpected turn."

Regina relaxed and looked at her. "I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to argue with you. I know how much she loves candy."

"And I know you're a health freak," Emma smirked.

"Just because I don't eat like a child doesn't mean I'm a 'health freak'."

"Ouch," Emma smirked playfully.

Regina raised a challenging eyebrow.

The saviour raised the back of her hand to her own forehead dramatically and said, "woe betide me! How I must change my pitiful cheeseburger ways!" in the most theatrical voice she could muster.

"You're starting to sound like Belle, dear."

"Don't slate Belle! She's cool."

"She's married to the Crocodile."

"Aren't I married to the Evil Queen?"

"You always know how to charm a woman."

Emma rolled her eyes and stepped closer to the brunette, placing her hands on yellow and black striped hips. She leant forward and kissed her slowly, tongue curling across her lip until she was granted access. At the first sound of Regina's moan, she pulled away instantly.

"Now, _that_ is how I charm a woman." Emma grinned proudly at her wife's lust filled gaze.

"I sure hope I'm the only one."

The saviour winked at her before heading for the doorway.

"Where are you going, dear?"

"To make hot chocolates of course. We need to hear about Henry's evening with Grace."

* * *

Once Regina and Emma had tucked Isla in, made hot chocolates for themselves and their son and had all changed to comfortable pyjamas, the three were sat on the sofa in the study.

"Why are we in here again?" Henry asked.

Emma shrugged from the seat between him and Regina. " I felt like a change of scenery."

He shrugged and nodded. "Can't argue with that." The teenager smiled as his blonde parent decided she would now be lying down and proceeded to rest her head on Regina's lap and her feet on Henry's.

"By all means feel free, dear..." Regina smiled with her familiarly raised eyebrows. Still, her hands came to rest in Emma's hair and her thumb absentmindedly began stroking her cheek.

Henry rested back against the couch with a contented sigh. It had been a great night for him. Grace had loved his costume and the pair had spent nearly the whole evening talking and laughing together. She was dressed as a pirate and he had made as many pirate themed puns as he could have possible thought of. They'd been laughing hysterically by the end of it. And the moment that topped them all- the one that he couldn't stop smiling about- was that when they'd gone outside for fresh air and the pair had kissed _for ages_ , holding one another. It was cringe-worthily beautiful and he had personally sworn to never tell anyone how perfect it truly was. He wanted to keep that special moment just between themselves.

Emma raised her hand and squeezed Regina's to make her look at their son. They looked at each other knowingly. Their son was gazing into nothing, completely lovestruck. It was written all over his face.

"H-how was your night with Grace?" Emma asked, trying not to grin.

"Oh," he broke out of his smiley trance to try simmer down his expression a little. "It was alright...I guess," he shrugged, trying not to smile.

Regina scoffed at that. "You absolute liar! I've never seen you look so smitten!"

Emma laughed and watched as he guiltily raised his hot chocolate to sip at it, likely so he wouldn't have to speak... After a silent minute or so she couldn't take the suspense any longer. "So...!? She outburst, much to Regina's amusement. "Did the fangs do it for her?"

"Mom!" Henry sighed, blush creeping to his cheeks. "We had a good time, okay? That's all I'm saying!"

"Did you kiss her, dear?"

Henry put his face in his hands embarrassedly. "I'm going to bed."

The confession made Emma so excited she proceeded to roll over and hug Regina's belly with both her face and arms excitedly. They could all hear hear the muffled scream of excitement into Regina's pyjama top.

"Ugh!" Henry smiled. "You're so embarrassing!" He leant down to kiss Regina's forehead goodnight before jogging away to his room.

"You're killing him, dear," Regina laughed once he'd gone. Her wife's face was still nuzzled against her covered stomach. She felt the warmth of laughter from her mouth, as well as the telltale shaking of her shoulders.

"It's just so damn cute!"

* * *

 **AN:Ahhhhh!:)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Enjoy, my darlings! I still have no idea how long i'm going to continue this story but don't worry, I'll let you know beforehand if it's coming to an end.**

* * *

A muffled sob woke Emma from slumber. Her first instinct was that it could be Regina and leaned her head up to look. She was holding the brunette from behind and the woman was warmly nestled against her in her flannel pyjamas. To Emma's relief and confusion, she was still fast asleep. Upon hearing it again a moment later, the saviour looked up to see their door open and a small silhouette holding a teddy bear.

"Isla," she said softly. "Isla, come here, baby." Their blonde daughter was six now and had been suffering from frequent nightmares recently. A few weeks before, the child had crept into the living room as Henry was watching a gory horror movie with Grace (his girlfriend of almost two years) and had regretted it ever since. Those images haunted her nightmares.

Emma watched sadly as her daughter sniffed and slowly walked to the bed with her head dropped.

"Come on, there's plenty of room for you right between me and mommy."

At this point Regina opened her eyes and blinked hazily, trying to comprehend the conversation. She could feel Emma's warm body wrapped around her, legs entwining from behind. It had felt like a cuddle night. Her eyes opened fully with concern as she heard a little hiccup from her daughter; her obviously crying daughter.

"Baby," Regina said, sitting up with Emma to greet their child. She turned the bedside lamp on as they both rested their backs against the headboard.

Isla climbed up and took Regina's hand which pulled her to them. They shuffled apart, both still yawning before settling her closely between them.

"Sweetheart," Regina wrapped an arm around her small shoulders. The saviour held their child's hand, stroking her thumb warmly across it. Emma looked up and smiled softly to her caring wife. The former queen looked exhausted. An incident with Henry that night seemed to have drained her of all her energy.

"Tell us what happened, baby."

Isla's face crumpled as she looked at Emma and shook her head. "I can't," she choked. "It's too scary."

"Did something happen to us again?"

Squeezing her teddy with her free hand, Isla nodded, refusing to make eye contact. "It was so horrible."

"Who got hurt this time?" Emma asked softly. They were familiar with these dream scenarios now. According to Isla, they seemed to be reenactments of the horror film but with either of her two mothers, Henry, or her grandparents assuming one of the murder victim's roles. The parents had gotten past the whole 'you've learnt your lesson's' and were now onto comforting her as they hadn't anticipated how long this twilight torment would last for the child.

"Both of you," she sobbed. "He cut you into pieces again."

"Oh honey," Emma frowned at the graphic severity of her dreams. "You know it isn't real, don't you?"

"That is never ever going to happen, dear," Regina squeezed her shoulder. "No one could ever hurt us. Or you for that matter."

"The monster always gets to."

Emma bit her lip, composing her next answer. "That's because he's not real, sweetheart. If he were real, we'd kick his butt! You know that."

Isla's dark eyelashes were still wet with tears as she hiccuped, still only coming down from her distraught slowly. They hated seeing their child like this. She was usually so cheerful and not afraid of anything. They often had to reel her back in in terms of dangerous ambitions. Jumping off of the swing set had not been a good idea. You would have thought that the first broken arm would have deterred her enough... But no, it took a second before the concept of 'danger' had finally sunk in. She'd only just had her cast off.

"Do you want to try go back to sleep with us?" Regina asked.

Isla nodded. "Please don't let go of me," she whispered fearfully, almost too quiet to hear.

"Never," Regina said softly. At Isla's small nod, Regina and Emma lay back down and waited for their child to follow suit. Timidly, she settled down between them on her back and the two women shifted closer on their sides so that she would feel safe and sufficently protected enough to face her dreams again. With closed eyes, knowing they were both still watching her, she reached out with both hands, holding one of theirs each before finally succummbing to sleep.

Emma hummed softly at the sight and her eyes met with Regina as they shared a smile.

"She's so precious," the former mayor whispered.

"She's just beautiful. I can never get over how beautiful she is. She takes after you," Emma whispered back fondly.

Regina blushed in the dark and smiled. "Her beauty is one hundred percent you, dear."

"Are we really going to have this argument right now?" Emma lightly chuckled.

"I have something we can both agree on, dear. She certainly does not take her grace from you."

"And it was going so well..."

Isla opened her eyes at this point and couldn't suppress a giggle. She looked up at Emma with a grin. "She's right, mommy."

Emma looked from her wife to her daughter with fake-outrage. "I swear you two are conspiring against me!"

"No, the insults just come naturally, dear," Regina teased. Her grin told them both she was joking.

The saviour looked down at her daughter for a moment to see that she had actually fallen asleep now. She sighed with a smile and leant forward, placing a kiss on their daughter's forehead. Regina's face lit up at the warm sight and she mirrored it before back settling down herself. She was watching Emma trace gentle shaped on their daughter's arm.

"You'll wake her up, dear," the brunette said softly.

Realisation struck Emma's face as she realised she'd been absentmindedly making invisible patterns again. It was a habit she'd taken up on Regina too. "I didn't even realise," she defeatedly retracted her arm. "And it's not like I can reach to do it on you."

"Have you tried, darling?"

The saviour realised she hadn't and smiled. She reached across their daughter and rested her palm on Regina's hip, just slightly beneath her top. Meeting Regina's eye with adoration, she traced gentle shapes on her smooth skin. "I love you. So much."

"I love you too, sweetheart. More than you could ever imagine."

* * *

The blonde child stretched her arms upwards and yawned as Emma Swan watched fondly. She blinked a couple of times before fully opening her eyes. The girl looked around for a moment before finally meeting her mother's eye. "Hello."

"Hello," Emma smiled.

"Where's mommy?"

"Downstairs making breakfast for Henry and Grace. She's trying to make it up to him after that yelling last night..."

"Yes. I remember."

The night before, Regina had caught her son and his girlfriend in quite a heated make out session on his bed. The pair had been deeply embarrassed and instantly reached for their shirts. Yes, they had been absent... She had yelled mainly out of shock but also because every single member of the family was also in the house and 'god-forbid Isla saw anything'.

"Sorry you had to listen to all that, honey."

"Mommy was so mad."

"Not at you though."

The brown eyed girl nodded. She was rested on her side just looking at her mother now. She enjoyed observing people, learning about them. It was interesting learning new things.

Emma lay on her side also, facing her. "How you feeling about the nightmares?"

Isla shrugged. "A little better. The snuggling helped," she smiled. "And you and mommy making me laugh."

The saviour smiled. "I'm glad." Her smile faltered a little as she saw her daughter frown again. "What's up?"

Isla rested her check on her arm. "Is mommy okay?"

"What do you mean?"

The girl shrugged. "She seems sad sometimes now and she's been shouting lots." It surprised Emma that their daughter was quite so perceptive of their feelings and moods. She certainly hadn't been that observant when she was six. The child was smart.

"Oh, honey, she's just tired. I promise. There's been lots to do with the parent committee and then sorting out Henry's school plans."

"How can we make her happier? I like it when she's happy."

"I like it when she's happy too, baby. And you're very kind for wanting to cheer her up. Let's just give her a lot of cuddles, remind her how loved she is."

"Sounds good, mommy. Good idea!"

Emma nodded. It did sadden her that even their daughter had picked up on Regina's stressed state. The brunette had been overworking herself a lot recently, it seemed she missed being the role of being the mayor and felt the need to overcompensate for it in some way. She'd have to talk to her later.

The two headed downstairs to find Grace and Henry reading some kind of comic together at the table and Regina quickly beating eggs at the counter across the room. They saw that Henry and Grace had empty plates covered with crumbs; they'd already had breakfast, likely made by her.

"Honey, what are you doing?" Emma asked as she approached her in her, still in pyjamas. Regina was already fully dressed and made up.

"Cupcakes. There's a cake sale at the school tomorrow and I told Henry I'd give him something to take in." She didn't stop her relentless beating of ingredients the whole time.

"Does it have to be done so fast?"

"Yes. I have other things to do too, Emma," she said frustratedly. There were bags under her eyes. She must have gotten up early to start it all.

Isla placed her teddy on the table and then stepped forward. She subtly edged forward before finally wrapping her arms around her mothers waist and resting her head on the curve of her stomach. Regina looked down with surprise and finally put down the bowl and whisk. "Isla? What are you doing?"

The blonde child said nothing and closed her eyes as she cuddled up to her mother. Emma smiled at her determination and leant forward too. She wrapped her arm lovingly around her wife's shoulders, pulling all three of them closer together. She placed a few kisses on Regina's cheek before smiling. Isla smiled too.

"What's this?" Regina asked as she couldn't help but smile too. She was mostly confused about her daughter clinging to her for dear life. What on earth were they up to?

"Isla wanted us to hug you. So we are," Emma said simply.

"Hey!" Isla complained. "You wanted it too! It was your suggestion, mommy."

Regina looked at them questioningly. "What are you two up to?"

"Mommy said you're stressed and unloved."

"Emma?" she looked at her with confusion.

Emma laughed at the way it had come out. "That's not what I said. I said you were stressed and needed extra love."

"Do you two always discuss my mental wellbeing?"

"Of course," Emma nodded confidently. "If Henry's not available I gotta vent to someone..."

"Emma! You-"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. It's Grace who I really talk to..."

The blonde girl at the table laughed and Henry just rolled his eyes to her. His parents seemed to only ever be flirting or yelling in front of his girlfriend and there was no in between. He dreaded to think what she thought of them...

Regina sighed with a tired smile. "Emma!"

The saviour bit her lip with a grin and spun away from her wife, dipping out of the room. "Gotta go get dressed!" she yelled behind her.

Isla giggled and looked up at Regina, the brunette had her hands on her hips. Regina raised an eyebrow of disbelief. "She is so cheeky."

Isla nodded. "You're not really mad are you?"

Regina smiled to her and shook her head. She reached down and picked the six year old up. The girl was still in her pyjamas too. "No, of course not. Although I don't like you two worrying about me." She carried Isla into the living room so they could talk in private and set them both down on the sofa. The child was a little small for her age so was still easily carry-able much to their delight.

"You just look sad sometimes." Isla shrugged. The girl shifted so that she was straddling her, hands resting on Regina's shoulders as she looked at her. "And mommy notices it too."

"Then she should be the one to talk to me. She shouldn't make you."

"She didn't make me!" Isla tucked a handful of blonde hair behind her own ear. "It was me who started talking about it when me and her were in bed. You just got really angry yesterday," she said sadly.

"But I wasn't angry at you, sweetheart. I was angry at Henry for doing something inappropriate."

"But why? He just loves Grace like you love mommy."

"That may be true, dear, but some things are just not okay. There is a level of maturity required with certain things and It's my job as his mother to make sure everyone is safe."

"What 'things'," Isla repeated her tone to emphasize to annoying vagueness, "are you talking about?"

"Grown up things. Honey, we'll talk about it when you're a little older."

"You mean like what you do with mommy?"

Regina widened her eyes momentarily. Had Isla heard something before? Or god-forbid seen something? "...What are you talking about, honey?"

"You know, how you make babies..."

"Oh god," Regina muttered quietly.

"What?"

"Nothing, dear." Yes, she'd already done this talk once before but it wasn't when her son was six. He was far older! And it was Emma's turn. Yes, Emma needed her share of the sex-talk-sufferring. Vagueness was key. "If you're still interested and you get a chance, ask mommy, dear," Regina smirked devilishly.

"Okay!" Isla hopped off her lap and skipped towards the door.

"Oh, Isla- why did you say that me and mommy-" Regina sighed to herself as she saw that the girl was already gone.

* * *

 **AN: Ah, *contented sigh*.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Thank you to the reviewer who requested this. I thought it would be fun and a new perspective so I thought i'd give it a go. I hope you're still enjoying this little thing. It still makes me smile to write so that's a good sign personally.**

 **TW for slightly salty language.** **This chapter is short and sweet. Enjoy, my lovelies!**

* * *

"Oh my god," Emma said to herself. She was stood in the bathroom, hands shaking, holding a pregnancy test. It was one of three positive ones. _Oh my god_. How the hell had that happened again? How had they gotten pregnant _again_. "It shouldn't even be possible!" she whined to herself.

With slightly shaky hands, Emma picked up the tests and put them in a small carrier bag. She headed into their bedroom and placed the bag in the bedside table. She had to go downstairs soon. Downstairs where her whole family were about to eat dinner with her parents. _Great_.

She took a deep breath, ran her fingers back through her hair and headed to the staircase. She stopped mid way down as she realised she was crying. When had that happened? As she swiped her fingertips beneath her eyes she realised she wasn't sure they were good tears or bad tears. She was scared. That was it.

Exhaling once again, she continued down the stairs and managed to compose a smile for her family as she entered the kitchen. The group were all sat at the dining table, Isla showing Mary Margaret something she'd done at school recently, Henry explaining to David what had gone wrong with him and Grace. _Yes_ , after almost two years together they'd realised that it just wasn't working anymore, that they were too different people.

Regina was stood at the oven, taking out some roasted vegetables when she looked up. She smiled to her wife brightly. "Hello, dear."

"Hi," Emma said nervously. "Can we talk?" Her eyelashes looked wet and the blonde's cheeks were flushed. The brunette hadn't seen her looking this disgruntled in quite some time. She worried for her wife.

"Whats wrong? Are you okay?" She put down the oven gloves and stepped forward with concern.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Could we just talk in private for a minute?"

"Of course." The brunette nodded with a furrowed brow. She turned to look at her son. "Henry? Could you plate all this up for me?"

The boy nodded and got up, David following to give him a hand. Regina placed her palm on Emma's forearm and led her wife out of the room.

They sat down in the living room and Regina looked at the strangely uncomfortable woman. What could have possibly happened between now and ten minutes ago when she had been beaming? "Honey, what's wrong?" she finally asked.

She bit her lip and softly smiled. "I have something to tell you."

"Emma, you're killing me! Just please tell me what's going on."

"Okay, okay." The saviour looked down again nervously. "Regina, it happened again... I'm pregnant."

The former mayor stared at her in shock. She reached out and held her hands. "What!? A-are you sure?"

"The three positive tests seem to think so."

"Oh my god," Regina smiled, beamed even. She wanted to scream, celebrate, but something felt slightly off. Her wife didn't seem fully happy. "Sweetheart, are you okay?" She squeezed her hands.

"I'm fine, I'm happy. I just- I'm scared. I really fucked it up the last time I was pregnant. I mean, Regina, I was in jail. The whole thing was awful for me. Devastating."

"And you're scared it will bring back memories?"

Regina looked up to see her gently nod. She shuffled closer and wrapped her arms around the saviour, knowing she so desperately needed support right now. The brunette smiled softly as Emma held her tightly too. "It'll be different this time. So much different," she said on Emma's shoulder. "The experience will be warm this time, Emma. You have your whole family this time. I'll keep you safe."

As they pulled away Emma smiled at her tearily. "You make me feel safer than anyone, Regina. And I know It'll be okay. I love you."

Regina smiled at her tearily. "Oh Emma, I love you so much."

With still shaky fingers, the saviour took Regina's hand and led it to her flat stomach. She placed it on her t-shirt covered belly and held it there. "Regina, we're going to be moms again," the blonde said with disbelief.

The brunette nodded and rested their foreheads together. "I couldn't possibly be married to a better person. Dear, it makes me feel faint how much I love you. I'm so lucky," her voice cracked.

Tearily, Emma looked up and smiled. She placed a kiss to her nose and swiped her thumb across a wet cheek. "You're so cute, sweetheart. I couldn't have found a better person to be having a third child with. This probably isn't the best time to practically be redoing our vows but I think we both need to be reminded sometimes." She laughed softly and kissed the brunette.

Regina cupped her cheeks and kissed her passionately. As they stopped and their foreheads came together once again, Regina whispered, "congratulations, my darling. I already love _both_ of you so much. And I can't wait to meet him or her."

"Do you know how perfect you are? How you always know exactly what I need to hear to make me feel happy or safe?"

"I just know _you_ , Emma. I always hope that's enough and it usually is."

* * *

"First trimester down," Regina smirked to her expectant wife. "Officially time to tell the kids."

"I'm so excited!" Her smile widened as she thought about it more.

The pair were on the way home from their sonogram. So far the baby was happy and healthy, even if it was still only a set of cells. It was too early to tell anyway, but they were going to keep the gender of the baby as a surprise. With a boy and a girl already, they honestly couldn't be happier with either.

Emma bit her lip as she thought of their teenage son and all his possible reactions. "What do you think Henry will say?"

"Hopefully he will be thrilled. Or perhaps he will be too preoccupied with-what's her name? Laura? Lola?"

Emma just chuckled as she drove back into town. "Layla. And don't be too hard on her, she seems sweet."

"Did you see what she was wearing!?"

"So what, she likes to show a bit of leg!" At Regina's pointed glare, she rolled her eyes and continued with, "...and ass. And cleavage."

"Were what she was wearing supposed to constitute as shorts?" Regina scoffed.

"She's just finding herself. She's a teenager. Give her a chance."

"More like finding sexually transmitted-"

"-Don't even think about finishing that sentence," Emma cut her off abruptly. An eyebrow raised in warning.

Regina simply rolled her eyes. "You're lucky you're pregnant, dear."

Emma scoffed and looked at her in shock. "And if I weren't!?" She laughed. "What would happen then?"

Regina only smirked knowingly, a glint of fire in her eyes. Emma knew full well now what that meant. It was the brunette having far from innocent thoughts. It didn't take much these days. They'd been struggling to find alone time recently and it was really taking its toll.

"I absolutely did not mean it like that." The blonde looked at her incredulously. They pulled up to the familiar street and Emma parked her Bug. No matter how hard Regina had tried over the years, Emma had profoundly refused to get rid of it. Car victory was still hers. "...Speaking of. I don't think we're ever going to be able to have sex again," the saviour stated bluntly.

"And why is that, dear?"

"The kids! There's tons of them now. There's going to be no time."

"We'll find time. We'll just have to get creative." The brunette watched her laugh in response to her wink.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Regina nodded. She took Emma's hand and squeezed it for a second.

The blonde leant across and kissed her cheek. "I'm really glad we got this moment."

"Me too, dear. Let's go tell our children why we got the chance to have it."

The saviour nodded with a grin.

* * *

"Isla, Henry," Regina began as she and her wife picked up their dishes. "Could we have a word with you in the living room?"

Unknown to them, Henry rolled his eyes. He knew exactly what this was. He had actually been slightly more offended with every week they didn't tell him.

Isla happily jumped down from her seat at the table and wandered into the living room with her family. She liked news. It was always exciting but usually it was about who her mommies would have to battle next. They were the heroes of the town and she was so proud of that. It was always a conversation starting at school: _'my mommy's the saviour. What does yours do?' and_ _'My brother's the Author'_ was a good one too _. 'My other mommy was the queen'_ certainly also turned a few heads. The two parents had told their child extremely vaguely that Regina used to rule a realm. They hadn't dropped the 'E' word yet, they weren't sure how well Isla would take it. She was already showing an interest in fairytales and that made them both more than a little nervous...

The brown eyed child jumped onto the sofa and sat down, looking at them expectantly. Her elder brother was slouched beside her.

"We have some exciting news," Emma smiled to them both. Her eyes were mostly set on Henry. He just looked at her knowingly and rolled his eyes again. Her face softened at that. "What?" she asked him quietly. Regina looked over at the exchange.

"You really think I don't know?" He crossed his arms with a smirk. "How unobservant do you think I am?"

Regina raised her eyebrows. "How long have you known?"

"Known what!?" Isla shouted frustratedly. Her family always seemed to do this, talk about things without ever actually saying them. It was one of their favourite 'we have a problem and we're not going to tell Isla about it' games and she was six years old and already saw through it.

Emma looked at her with amusement and crouched down so she was face to face with her child. "Isla, sweetheart. Mommy and I are going to be having a baby. I'm pregnant."

The girl's eyes widened with shock and she instantly grinned. Regina chuckled at her response. Isla slid from the couch and embraced her expectant parent.

Henry got up and hugged Regina. "At least you finally told me..." He muttered into her shoulder.

The brunette pulled him back, holding him at arms length. "How on earth do you know?"

"Mom, I was here when you were pregnant with Isla. I've seen the whole baby process before."

"But what was it that made you know?" Emma asked as she picked up her daughter and held the girl on her hip.

"A combination of the morning sickness and the excessive touches between you two. Mom's been all over you."

Emma laughed and looked at Regina. The brunette simply shrugged as if to say ' _who could help it?'_.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Henry shrugged. "I wanted to leave it up to you. You certainly took your time."

Emma stepped closer to them and wrapped her free arm around her son's shoulders. Isla slid over into Regina's arms and began immediately babbling questions. The brunette took her over to the over side of the room and attempted to answer a few.

Now fully able to, the saviour pulled her tall son into a hug. Once they'd pulled away she explained with, "we just didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. We thought it would be more sensible to wait until the first trimester was through. I'm sorry if I upset you, kid."

Henry shook his head and smiled to her. "Don't worry. I'm just happy for you both." His smile faltered for a moment as his next question formed.

"What is it?" she asked.

Her looked around awkwardly for a moment. "Not that I understood last time... But did it happen the same way as before?"

The saviour bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah. We really need to talk about that with someone actually."

"You think?" Henry laughed. It was absurd, impossible even- but they lived in Storybrooke. It was the town of exceptions. Anything was possible. "How are you gonna stop it happening again? Because it's not like you could-"

"Yeah..."

"Scientifically, your-"

"Henry, I know it doesn't make sense ," she cut him off quickly. "I don't think we should go into further details... It happened. Again. That's it really. Regina and I will talk about it in terms of the future later."

"What was that?" Regina looked over.

"Henry's concerned about this happening on repeat," she explained. "We should talk about it later."

Concern flashed across her face as Regina nodded. It was something she'd thought about. They'd have to work something out with whatever magical being they could their hands on. A little insight would be helpful here.

"What's he talking about?" Isla asked curiously.

Regina looked at the girl she was still holding. "Well normally two mommies can't make babies, sweetheart. But because we're special -because we have magic- we can, but it means we don't get to choose when."

Isla nodded, processing it all. "You're special," she repeated softly.

Emma nodded with a smile. "As are my two babies," she squeezed Henry's shoulder.

"Three!" Isla shouted, pointing at Emma's faintly curved tummy. She was only just starting to show. "Three babies!"

"Yes," Emma smiled. "Three babies."

* * *

 **AN: Sorry about chopping Grace...I just wanted to focus mainly on the Swan-Mills family. I hope you weren't too attatched. How much longer do you think I should continue this? Also, feel free to give prompts as if they're possible, I'll almost definitely do them! And they're fun.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: When the 'oneshot' reaches chapter six... I should have probably changed the summary by now. I'm glad you're all still enjoying it!**

* * *

The two women lay in their bed as the sunlight seeped through the curtains. It was early morning and both had just awoken. The pregnant saviour had had trouble sleeping the night before- an extremely fidgety baby being the source. Her kind wife had stayed awake with her. They had simply chatted until the blonde was released to slumber.

As she looked over, to Emma's discontent, they were laying far apart and the heap on top of her abdomen prevented her from moving. She was eight months pregnant now. "Regina," she moaned softly. "I just want to hold you."

The brunette rolled to face her with a light smile. "We've established many times that you can't, dear." She yawned and wriggled closer to the blonde who lay on her back.

The saviour rolled her head to look at her. "You're so beautiful in the mornings."

"As oppose to any other time of day?" The brunette chuckled.

"No, you know what I mean. You just look natural, and relaxed, and mine."

"Yours?"

"Yes," Emma smirked.

Regina rolled her eyes and nestled against her warm wife. The white sheets crumpled around their bodies. Emma wrapped her arm around her shoulders as the brunette lay on her side.

Regina exhaled comfortably and placed her hand on the large heap in front of them. Emma was wearing a white maternity vest and a pair of pyjama bottoms. She looked very cute.

Emma hummed softy at the warm palm atop her stomach. "I liked it so much better when you were pregnant."

Regina chuckled against her neck. "I'm sorry, baby."

"No you're not."

"No, I'm not really."

Emma rolled her eyes with a grin. "You're lucky I love you so much."

"I am," she said simply, changing the tone of their conversation. The saviour responded by planting a kiss on her nose with approval. The two nestled together and shortly fell back asleep. It had been a long night.

* * *

"Mom's..." Henry knocked on the door. With no response, he slowly opened it to find them both snuggled and asleep. His parents looked so young sometimes. Not the invincible pair the rest of the town always saw.

Henry sighed at the fact he was such a good person. He was going to take his sister to her soccer game. He'd let them get their sleep.

Thirty minutes later they were almost there. The two siblings had walked in a comfortable silence for most of the journey but Henry had realised now that he could utilise this mom-free moment. "Isla?"

She looked up at him. "Yeah?" She was wearing her soccer kit and her blonde hair, now turning slightly wavier, was pulled up into a ponytail.

"Are you looking forward to the baby arriving?"

The girl smiled and nodded. "I can't wait. Mommy won't stop complaining too so I think she'll be happy."

"They'll both be happy," Henry reaffirmed with a chuckle. Regina had put up with a lot of pregnancy complaints lately. Anything from 'I can't put my bloody socks on' to the extreme 'I'm about to wet myself. Like right now, it's happening.' They'd watched in amusement as she struggled to deal with the absurd commands. She never seemed to mind though. Love sure was a powerful thing apparently.

"Are you nervous at all?" The teen asked her.

She shrugged. "A little bit. I don't know what it will be like." The blonde looked up at him expectantly, waiting for the full explanation she apparently sought.

"It's different, yes," he began. "But you'll get used to it. You'll love them heaps."

"Did you love me heaps as a baby?"

"Isla, I still love you heaps. You're still just as cute. And you're my sister."

Her smile faltered a little as she braced herself for her next question. "Do you think they'll love me less once the baby arrives? That they only have so much love to give?"

Henry stopped them at that and crouched down before her, kneeling on the dry gravel. "Of course not! Isla, there's no cap on love. You can't just run out."

"But I won't be their favourite anymore," she said sadly.

"I'm gonna let that one slide for the moment... When the baby arrives they might not have as much time to play with you as before but it doesn't mean they love you any less, they just have another extra person to care for too. If you have a problem and they're really busy, you can come to me, okay?"

"Thanks, Henry," she nodded appreciatively. "You're a good brother...most of the time."

He got up and grinned. "Nothing like a backhanded compliment."

"A what?"

"Nevermind," he smiled. "Lets get you set up." They were at the field now and other players and families were slowly fabricating into a match.

"I wish they were here."

"Our mom's?

Isla nodded. "Yeah."

"They're just tired."

"I know. I just wish they weren't."

"C'mon sis, let's go kick some ass."

"Henry! You're not allowed to say that word."

He smirked and shook his head before taking his seat in the bleachers. Half an hour passed as he watched his sister's determination whilst she ran with the ball again and again. On her team only she and one other girl were actually trying. It was quite similar with the other team, only a few would actually run at full speed. He remembered the suffering himself of not wanting to be there. Many of their parents must have forced them into this Sunday match.

Henry was always astonished by how much his sister looked like his parents. As she grew, her features seemed to shift more and more into her mothers' every day. It was both fascinating and weird to watch at the same time. He didn't think he particularly looked like either of his parents, one for obvious reasons. If anyone, he looked most like his father.

As his phone started violently buzzing in his lap, the boy raised his phone to his ear. Upon seeing the ID, he smiled knowingly. "Hey mom...We're at her soccer game."

He heard Emma's sigh of relief in response. "Do you know you're the best son in the world?"

"Of course."

"Why didn't you wake us up?"

"You looked really tired so I decided to just take her instead."

"You're very kind, kid. How's she doing? Is she mad at us?" Her voice was a combination of anxiety and guilt. It was unnecessary guilt. He knew how tired she was as she just wasn't sleeping. As he woke a couple of nights before, at midnight, he had gone downstairs to get a glass of water and stumbled upon her eating a grilled cheese at the counter. She had her cheek resting on her hand and she looked exhausted. After overcoming the initial fright of his sudden presence, Emma had explained that the baby was being wild again. He'd smiled and sat with her for a little while, the two talking about various aspects of life. Once they had both grown cold, the pair had headed up to their own bedrooms and gone back to bed. For Henry, that night was quite a pleasant coincidence as they got very little time to talk together these days. He knew that his mother would have preferred her sleep but he liked to think that she had enjoyed it too.

"Nah, she prefers me anyway," he smirked, trying to brighten her mood. "She's playing really well. She's the fastest one on there!"

"That's great!" He heard the smile in her voice. "Regina's just set off to meet you now, you were on loudspeaker before. I'd come too but I'm feeling pretty tired."

"Yeah, that's no problem. And don't worry, she's not upset. We had a chance to talk about the baby as well."

"Yeah?"

"She's a bit scared I think. Maybe you and mom should talk to her." He looked up to see her running across the pitch at full velocity. Her jaw was clenched and her little cheeks red. She didn't even have the ball.

"She's scared?" Emma asked with concern. "Is she worried about not getting as much attention?"

"I think so. I did my best at reassuring her though."

"Kid, I really do owe you. You're a godsend."

"You can pay me in ice cream and later bedtimes."

"That sounds like a fair deal," the saviour smiled to herself. "And Henry? Are you worried about that stuff? Getting less attention?"

"No," he shook his head even though she couldn't see him. "I'm old enough to know you're not going to absolutely ditch me. You don't need to worry about me."

"Kid, I still do worry about you. Just because we have Isla and the new baby coming doesn't you're not high on the priority list."

"Mom, I love you, but I don't need need this. I'm not worried."

"We'll all talk later, kid."

"Mom," he moaned.

"We'll talk tonight. Have fun at her match."

He sighed. "Bye."

* * *

"Mommy, I scored three goals!" Isla delightedly told Regina. The three had just gotten into the car.

"I saw, my darling," she smiled. "You scored all three so quickly! I'm very proud of you."

Isla nodded brightly from her booster seat and played with the top of her long soccer socks. "I'm glad you saw."

"Me too, baby." She nodded. "And I'm sorry we couldn't take you this morning. Your mommy just isn't sleeping as well and I stayed up to comfort her last night."

Henry raised an eyebrow from his seat beside her. He made no comment.

"Not like that," she looked at him pointedly. "She's just not sleeping."

"Baby stuff again?"

"Yes, the infant doesn't seem to sleep when she does. And how do you know? Did she speak to you about it?"

He nodded and watched as they passed Granny's diner quickly. "Yeah, I bumped into her the other night and we chatted."

Regina smiled and glanced at him for a moment. "I'm glad. She's been saying how she wants to spend time with you. I'm sorry that she hasn't had the chance."

"Don't worry about it. I get what I can," he shrugged.

She wished he didn't have to say things like that. She never thought she'd live in a world where Henry wasn't getting enough attention. It had always been her number one priority and who knew how much longer they'd have him? They'd lose him to the real world soon enough. She dreaded that day. She never wanted her baby to grow up. She didn't want any of her babies to grow up. They were perfect at the ages they were, aside from the unborn of course. She supposed that their fetus could age slightly... Then everything would be perfect.

* * *

Regina sat sideways across the sofa in her pyjamas. All had just finished dinner and had opted for a movie night together. Pyjamas were compulsory. Emma Swan sat with her back against Regina's front, the brunette's arms wrapped loosely around her. Their children were still upstairs getting changed.

"You're so cosy and warm," Emma said softly.

"That would be the fluffy pyjamas, dear."

Emma leaned her head back on her shoulder so that their cheeks were touching. "Well, they were a wise investment."

The brunette softly hummed and looked down at her wife's large bump. She used her free hand to gently rest on it. Emma smiled at the gesture and kissed her cheek. She loved her wife's affections. Regina was usually affectionate-yes it had taken a couple of years to fully unlock it- but it had really maximized with the pregnancy. Smiles were now little touches, little touches were now hugs, and kisses were...Were a lot more, to say the least. It was the one upside to pregnancy. Other than receiving a beautiful child of course.

Upon hearing footsteps, the pair looked up and both sleepily smiled at their children. They could just never get enough sleep these days. Wasn't this supposed to happen _after_ the baby arrived? This exhaustion was not welcomed.

"Come cuddle up," Emma instructed.

"I think you two have that covered," Henry smiled awkwardly. "Must you always be so close?"

"Yeah," the blonde responded simply. "Now come sit down. Look, Isla gets it." She smiled to her daughter who had sat in the middle of the sofa with her legs crossed. The girl pulled Regina's sock covered foot into her lap and immediately removed the article thoughtfully. The former mayor watched her with a raised eyebrow and Henry took his seat at the other side. Isla inspected the woman's blood-red painted toenails one by one before just simply holding her foot in her lap.

"Are you okay, dear?" Regina asked her with light amusement.

Isla simply nodded and rested her small back properly against the sofa.

"Do you want to cuddle up to her?" Emma asked her daughter about her wife. "I'm sorry if I'm taking her all up, sweetheart."

Isla shyly nodded. She felt like her pregnant mother needed her mommy's time more right now so sometimes felt reluctant to ask for hugs.

"Okay, honey," Emma nodded with a smile. "How about me and you swap places?"

Isla nodded, Regina helped the saviour to sit up- the lump made it increasingly difficult- and Emma sat by Henry, crossing her legs.

"Is that comfortable?" He asked with amusement.

"No less comfortable than anything else," she shrugged. Regina pulled her child into her arms and sat her on her lap. Isla rested her ear against her mother's collarbone and held onto her tightly. The girl didn't mind who, she just loved cuddling them. It relaxed her.

The four watched _Ice Age_ contentedly, light chatter breaking out occasionally and a few shared laughs. It was a pleasant evening. At some point Henry's head had fallen to Emma's shoulder and by the time the credits rolled down the screen, she was almost certain he was asleep.

The mother looked to her left to see Isla fast asleep against her wife who was struggling to stay awake herself. She smiled lightly upon Emma's gaze.

"Bed, darling?" Emma asked softly.

Regina hummed with agreement and tucked her arm under Isla's legs before scooping her up. "Shall we let her stay with us tonight? I think she's feeling a little neglected."

The co-parent nodded. "Definitely. You two get to bed, I'll wake him up and then be in in a sec."

The former queen nodded and carried their child up into their own room.

Emma woke their son and watched upstairs as he sleepily slouched into his bedroom. It was late and it had been a really long day. After Isla's game that morning, all four had been invited to a group lunch at Granny's to celebrate one year without a single Storybrooke attack. The lunch had ended up stretching into an afternoon party and the group hadn't ended up going home until early evening. By dinner everyone was tired. Now three hours beyond that, they were exhausted.

Once satisfied that her son was in bed, the saviour padded to her own room and crept into bed. It was dark and she could just make out her daughter laying on her front in the centre of the bed. Emma watched the girl amusedly as she tried to avoid being face down in the pillow. The blonde smiled and slid under the already warm covers properly.

Looking up, she met her Regina's eye. Seeing the unconditional love there sent a buzz of adoration straight through Emma's chest. She had the most beautiful wife in the world and two, nearly three, beautiful children. Life was really damn good. No, it was _awesome_.

* * *

 **AN: I've really fallen in love with this fic.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: I've really enjoyed writing this fic but I don't want it to drag on and lose it's little shine. I may do the occasional oneshot for this family (actual oneshot next time!) if people request it with a prompt but for now, this is the end of the line. Thank you all for being so kind and enjoying this as much as I did!**

* * *

She breathed heavily as her head rested against her wife's. "How did you still manage to look attractive while doing this?" Emma said exasperatedly. She lay in a hospital bed, her wife's hand around her own, gradually going in labour. Her contractions were still three minutes apart but the baby would hopefully be coming soon.

"I highly doubt that, dear" Regina smiled. She was stood beside her bed, leaning against her love. "Don't you remember I was a sweating, screaming mess?"

"An attractive sweating, screaming mess," she breathed.

Regina chuckled and kissed her damp forehead. "You're doing really well, dear. The midwife will be back in a moment."

"Please could you get me a glass of water?," she asked, grimacing as another contraction hit.

"Of course. I'll be right back, darling."

Emma curled her lips the best she could and nodded her thanks.

The saviour watched as her wife left the room, now finally able to steal a moment to herself. _Well shit_ , she thought as she breathed. _This is really, actually happening. I'm having a baby. Again._ She couldn't believe this was her life. That she had Regina and already two such beautiful children. She never thought she'd settle. She never thought she'd marry. That wickedly beautiful woman had changed everything.

She didn't even know the gender of her baby. They had no idea and that was both exciting and quite nerve wracking. Well, it was all nerve wracking.

 _What if I can't handle it?_ She exhaled shakily. _What if this child pushes us all over the edge? Oh god, I can't lose Regina. I can't lose any of them._ She bit her lip as her eyes watered with panic.

Just then the brunette returned holding a small plastic cup of water. She saw Emma's expression and instantly went to her side. "You don't really want water, do you? You just wanted a moment to panic, dear," she placed her hand on Emma's shoulder and squeezed it.

The saviour nodded quickly, knowing it was pointless trying to deny it.

"Don't do that to yourself," Regina said softly. "I had my own qualms about inadequacy when I was giving birth to Isla and you know how great she turned out. She's wonderful and we coped and we're happy."

"But what if it's too much? What if the stress just builds and then we begin snapping at each other and suddenly everyone is miserable? Regina, I can't lose you."

Regina laughed then at the absurdity. "Emma, that's ridiculous! No matter how stressful it gets, I'm never going to change the way I feel about you. Darling, you're safe. You're in a solid marriage, with a solid family and we are simply adding one more. I promise that you are safe, dear." To further her point, Regina took her lips and kissed her before resting their foreheads together. "I love you infinitely, Emma."

The saviour smiled. She didn't know whether it was the labour pain, or her previous panic, or the love she felt for her wife, but she was crying. Wholly crying. "I love you," she said shakily.

"I'm sorry you're scared," Regina said softly. "I promise it will pass. I'm here for you, dear."

"I know you are," Emma wiped at her eyes. She softly whimpered as another contraction hit. The brunette handed her the cup of water afterwards and Emma took sips from it. "You always are."

* * *

Henry sat in the waiting room with his nervous sister. The girl didn't fully know what would he happening to her mommy and she'd never liked hospitals. With all the various brakes and sprains between her and Henry they'd been around quite a lot. Never in this ward though.

"Do you think she's okay?" The girl finally questioned. At that moment their grandparents sat down beside them. The group were in the waiting room watching as people drifted in and out, some heavily pregnant, some holding their newborns.

"Of course," Henry squeezed her shoulder.

Mary Margaret wrapped an arm around her. "It's perfectly natural, honey. It's how I had Emma. And your mommy did all this for you as well. Emma by her side."

"I'm just so worried about her. People keep screaming," Isla looked down as she started to cry.

David crouched down in front of her and looked at the girl sympathetically. When she met his eye, he outstretched his arms and she walked into them. "Yes, it will hurt her," he began, biting his lip as he received a severe warning glare from his wife. "...But I promise she'll be okay. She already had Henry, and she was perfectly fine then."

Henry gave him a pointed glare. Yes, the handcuffs around her wrists must have been a nice touch.

"...That we know of," the grandfather said uncomfortably.

"David!" Mary Margaret snapped. Their granddaughter's bottom lip had yet to cease trembling. She took the girl from her husband and sat her on her lap. "Darling, your mom knows exactly what she's doing, as does Regina. Look how many people are here doing exactly the same thing!" She paused for a moment to let Isla look around and take in the number of people sharing the waiting room with them. At the girl's nod, she said, "It really shouldn't be long now, honey. You'll get to meet your new brother or sister soon!"

Isla nodded, now smiling. "I can't wait."

* * *

Seven hours, five earth shattering screams, two broken lights (much to the confusion of the midwives), and many happy tears later, their son was born. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes.

Henry held his baby brother with pride. The infant was tiny and his eyes were wide, observing his new world. Mary Margaret, David and Isla were all in the room with them as well. Regina was sat by Emma's bed, stroking her tired wife's hand.

"He's so gorgeous," Emma whispered.

"He truly is," Regina smiled tearfully. She couldn't believe that the baby was truly theirs. They were all able to hold him alone now. Twenty minutes before -just after his birth- the midwife had run all the appropriate tests and weighed the infant before leaving them in peace with him and allowing visitors.

"I'm so proud of you, Emma," David smiled to her. She gave him a warm smile of thanks back. As he went over to look at the baby, his eyes darted from the infant to Isla. "It's funny how these magical genetics take turns with your features. Isla looks at lot like you but then with Regina's eyes. Whereas he looks a lot like Regina but with your eyes."

"And then there's me..." Henry sighed with mock upset, his grin shone through in the end.

"Aw, come here," Emma laughed. He handed his brother to David with a smile and then slouched over to her. His mother wrapped an arm around his shoulders as he bent down. "You're special too, kid. None of this would have ever happened if it weren't for you," she shrugged with a smile. "If you hadn't forced us to talk that day none of these kids would be born."

He smiled fondly at the memory and at his siblings. "I can't imagine a world without Isla now. And it'll be the same with him."

Regina nodded in agreement. "That's how life works. Who knew I'd end up being _Snow White's_ daughter in law," she said with mock distaste. Mary Margaret rolled her eyes with a grin and lightly bumped her shoulder.

Emma laughed at that. This was a weird world. David came and gave the baby back to Emma. She and her wife looked down, closely examining his tiny face.

"What on earth are we going to call him?" Regina asked. Noticing her daughter now at her side, she picked up Isla and placed her on her hip. The child seemed tired and to be a little starstruck by the whole day. A new life being created was quite an alarming event for a six year old. "Are you alright, baby?" she asked their child softly.

Isla nodded and rested her head sleepily on her mother's shoulder. "I'm just sleepy. We've been here a really long time."

She nodded and planted a kiss on the blonde child's forehead. "Thank you for being so patient, darling."

The girl watched her mother holding the baby and smiled. She took in Emma's sleepy features and frowned. "Mommy, are you okay?"

The saviour smiled and nodded. "Just a little tired and sore, honey. I'll be alright."

The girl nodded and Regina used her free hand to caress her wife's shoulder and neck affectionately.

"I promise I'll look after her," the brunette said to her daughter. "We just have to be very gentle with mommy, okay?"

Isla nodded and smiled as she watched her brother reach out into the air with tiny hands. "He's so cute!"

Mary Margaret held hands with her husband as she watched her daughter's family. "She did okay, didn't she?"

David smiled and nodded. "She did brilliantly. I really couldn't be prouder." He said it loudly to ensure that his daughter heard.

Emma looked up at him fondly. "Thanks, dad. That means a lot."

Regina rocked their tired daughter in her arms. They had been here for several hours. "Are you ready to hold Max now?"

Emma's eyes darted up to Regina's in shock, as did everyone else's. She looked at them in question until Emma finally said, "Max?"

"Oh," Regina raised her eyebrows. "I subconsciously did that. I'm sorry, it doesn't have to be Max?" She looked at Emma with amusement.

"No, I like it," she smiled, rocking the boy. "Everyone else like it?" she looked around. Henry, Isla, and her parents nodded with content. "Okay then. Welcome to the world Max Swan-Mills."

* * *

It was the following evening to Max's birth and the now not-so-small family were all sitting in the lounge. Regina held Max in her seat on the armchair, her wife, daughter and son were all sitting on the living room couch. The brunette watched her family quietly converse as she rocked their newborn. It had been a long night before-and then day after- of the boy screaming. He just wouldn't sleep. Apparently he much preferred Emma's womb to this colder, more confusing world he'd been transferred to. When he had finally settled, only this evening, the family had all visibly exhaled with relief. It had been getting rather grating.

Henry had one leg across his other as he slumped against the sofa and Isla was softly nestled into Emma's side. The girl had been asking them all many unanswerable questions about her new brother, mainly contemplating his future personality and who his favorite family member would be; Henry had insisted it would be him. As everyone chuckled at one of Henry's jokes, the girl absent-mindedly placed her palm on the saviour's stomach. She looked down and quickly retracted it with concern etched across her little face.

Emma watched this small sequence of events and frowned. "Isla, you can touch me you know? I'm not made of porcelain." It was only then that she realised the girl's hands weren't on her whatsoever, she was simply leaning into her side. Regina looked up upon hearing Emma's comment.

The girl bit her lip, "I just don't want to hurt you."

"Sweetheart," Emma smiled lovingly. "You're too kind. But honestly, i'm okay. By 'being gentle' your mommy just meant not to jump on me or anything. You can still touch me, darling. I want to cuddle up to you."

"Are you sure?" she asked uncertainly. Still unconvinced, she looked up at Regina for a second opinion.

The brunette nodded to her, "Isla, she's okay. Trust us, here."

Emma planted a kiss to her forehead as she nodded. Her brother watched as the girl returned her palm to Emma's jumper-clad stomach and settled it there as she snuggled closer. He always found it odd how considerate Isla was for her age. It never quite figured. Her powers hadn't made themselves known yet, perhaps she would one day be an empath. Maybe she already was.

Regina stood with the boy in her arms and perched on the edge of the sofa.

Isla glanced up at her with an intrigued expression. "Mommy?"

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Yes, dear?"

"How was Max _made_?"

The saviour looked up at the brunette exasperatedly and Regina chuckled. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thank you for reading this and giving me your feedback, I really appreciated your kind words.**


	8. Chapter 8 (a Christmas bonus chapter!)

**Author's Note: _Bonus festive chapter!_ It follows on from where Midnight left off. Just Swan-Mills Christmas family fluff with a couple of blips, as all families have. Set on a Christmastime evening, no precise day. I hope you have a lovely Christmas day, sharing it with those you love. This chapter was longer than I expected so consider it as an early Christmas present.**

 **Enjoy, my lovelies!**

* * *

"Mommy looks cute doesn't she?" the saviour asked her daughter on her lap. The pair were watching as Regina and Henry decorated the Christmas tree, both taking turns to hold the new infant addition to the family as they did so.

Isla nodded as she leaned back sleepily against her mother's chest. It had taken a little bribing to make Henry fully participate in wearing the festive attire but it had concluded with him begrudgingly agreeing to put on the Christmas jumper they'd asked him to . The whole family was wearing Christmassy clothing and Emma loved it. It was the kind of Christmas she'd always dreamt of- a whole beautiful family around her just being domestic and gorgeous. Her parents were due to come by for the evening also and that only warmed her heart further.

"I like mommy's jumper," Isla smiled. "And Max's onesie!" The saviour smiled as she agreed. Regina wore a red woolen jumper with Rudolf artfully embroidered on the front; she didn't want her Christmas attire to be tacky of course- she still upheld her quality standards. The dark haired baby wore a white fleece onesie with red Christmas patterns across it. The boy was happily sleeping as his two family members took turns rocking him. It was a lovely scene.

Emma and Isla were exhausted. They'd been attempting to track down Dr. Hopper's dog, Pongo, all day. Despite it being her day off, the sheriff had been called by Archie that morning who'd sounded so worried that she'd reluctantly agreed to help. Henry, Regina and Max had been out Christmas shopping so Emma had no choice but to bring Isla along for the chase. The girl beamed at having something to actually do (the Christmas holidays were already proving to be too long for the excitable child) and she was dressed and ready in an instant.

It had taken four and a half hours to find the mischievous canine. The dalmatian had decided to raid a campsite on the edge of Storybrooke after smelling their cooking breakfast (over a mile away) and after succeeding in finding the source, he snaffled the lot. Upon the dog's attempt to return, he had grown lost. Hence why they had been scouring the woods of Storybrooke for the majority of their afternoon.

Upon their arrive home, Regina had given them both a sympathetic smile and a hug before leading them to the kitchen where two hot chocolates waited. "Can I marry you?" Emma had laughed as she'd planted a kiss to her cheek. Henry had rolled his eyes at their antics from his seat at the table.

* * *

"What is it?" Regina asked from the tree as she saw her wife staring at her. Isla had an equally fond-tired expression and in their almost matching jumpers, the sleepy pair had never looked more alike. The girl's blonde hair was still growing and despite her whining protests, Regina always loved plaiting it and putting it into obscure hairstyles. Much preferring sports and annoying her older brother, Isla hated her mother primping her but she knew how happy it made Regina so she chose to mostly put up with it. Emma rescued her sometimes anyway, pulling out the oddly placed pigtails or finding a way to distract her wife from doing it in the first place- mostly with Max related issues or simple kisses or hugs to allow the girl to escape the apparent beautician's grasp.

"We just really love you three," Emma said fondly. Henry blushed at the blunt affection but turned back to the tree to smile widely to himself. Regina rocked their baby boy as she smiled too. She looked at Emma knowingly, sharing the saviour's feelings of warmth for their family. Both women wanted to kiss to commemorate the moment but chose not to as they didn't want to avert their attention from their family time. They'd have time to cuddle up with baby Max and smile about it later. They'd decided all of this with quick eye contact. With all their years now spent together, and co-parenting, they'd mostly mastered the art of silent conversation.

Henry wrapped a long piece of tinsel around the back of the tree before bending down to retrieve a few more baubles. Despite enjoying his new macho-teen persona the boy would never turn down an opportunity for tree decorating, especially when nearly everyone was too tired so he had mostly free reign for his fabulous artistic license. He wished Max were older and the two could enjoy the activity together. It upset him that he would likely have left home before Max would have grown to a true communicating age. He wanted to see what the baby's personality would become. With Isla being so good willed, he hoped that finally someone would receive Emma's sarcasm and Regina's cynicism. It was a deeply entertaining idea. He was over the moon though to have a brother now too.

The teenager looked at the boy asleep against Regina's chest and met her eye. "Could I hold him again?"

The brunette smiled and nodded, gently passing him over. They'd been doing this for most of the evening between she, Henry and Emma. With supervision, Isla had her moments holding the infant too but obviously lesser so. Regina was astounded by how much Henry had taken a liking to the baby. She had figured that the novelty of a new baby would have worn off after Isla but apparently not. His enthusiasm made both of his mothers proud. They did wonder quite how long it would last though once the boy had stopped being quite so sleepy and quiet.

"It's sweet how he is with him," Emma said to Regina as the woman sat down next to them. Isla leaned across lazily so that she was now sprawled across both of them. The former mayor chuckled at their child and playfully patted her face.

"It is," Regina agreed while pulling faces at Isla. "What are you doing?" she asked their daughter as she rolled over on their laps. Emma looked down for a moment and smirked too.

"I'm bored."

"Why don't you go decorate the tree with Henry?" Emma suggested.

"But I'm sick of trees. We've been getting lost around trees all day."

Regina laughed at that. From what she'd heard from Emma's tired, groan-filled explanation, it did sound like the pair had had quite an ordeal. No wonder the girl was tired.

"Grandma and grandpa will be here soon," the saviour said, brightening the child's mood significantly. Isla nodded, sat up and hopped off their laps to go chat to Henry. "That was odd," Emma said to her wife. Normally it took more coaxing for Isla to cheer up than that.

"It was indeed," Regina nodded. She glanced at the sheriff as she looked around the room a little vacantly. She hadn't realised how exhausted she looked. Like Regina had with Isla, Emma had been up half the night very often recently at Max's decided feeding times. The boy had a habit of sleeping all day and staying awake all night. Emma had been deeply tiring herself out as she tended to Max's every whim as well as taking Isla to her soccer games and school events and still making time to spend time with Henry. Emma had realised that Regina had taken Christmas under her wing this year and had worried that the brunette would overwork herself with their newborn like when Isla was younger. Part of Emma's desire to do everything now was rooted from the anxiety she'd had in the hospital while giving birth to Max- that they would all become too stressed and unhappy and arguments would break out. She feared that Christmastime was the prime time for that situation so had subconsciously tried to force everything onto herself in order to not stress out Regina. Neither women had fully realised this.

"Are you alright, dear?" Regina asked gently.

Emma looked at her and sleepily nodded. "I love moments like this. When everyone is warm and quiet and happy."

The brunette moved closer to cuddle into her side and gently say, "But, my darling, you don't look so happy."

The saviour frowned and looked at her, seeking some kind of explanation.

"You look exhausted, sweetheart. Please go easy on yourself. Let me deal with Max tonight. We could get the pump and get it all sorted so that when he wakes up I can get up for him."

Emma shook her head, wrapping her arm around her back and pulling them slightly closer together. "You need your sleep."

"So do you!" Regina said more loudly causing Henry and Isla to look over questioningly.

"What are you talking about?" Their son asked as he took a seat in the armchair, the baby still in his arms. Isla reached up and put a few more decorations on the tree, meanwhile still listening.

"Your mother here doesn't want to rest and I'm simply stating that perhaps we should take up a few of her duties so that she can catch up on some sleep.

Emma rolled her eyes to her son with a gentle smile. Henry smiled back but after observing her appearance also, did realise that Regina was probably right. Much to the saviour's annoyance, he agreed with his other mother in the fact that she did look tired and should take some time off of her many responsibilities.

"Are you two quite finished?" Emma asked with raised eyebrows. "Because mom and dad are coming over soon and I need to go make us some dinner." Before anyone could protest, she got up and grumpily left the room.

Henry looked at his other parent with a confused expression. "What's going on with her?" Isla came over and sat on the floor, also confused by the current turn of events. Her mom had been in a great mood before.

"You know what she's like," Regina said to her son. "She loves making herself exhausted by doing everything for everyone by herself."

"You do that too, mom," Henry raised an eyebrow knowingly.

"Yes, well, it's Emma right now. And we need to take care of her, okay?"

Both Isla and Henry nodded. They knew that this little argument should definitely stay between their parents. When they got involved with domestic debates, it never went well. Their mothers were strong minded to say the least.

"Right, I'm going to go give her a hand." Regina looked to her son. "Would you like me to take Max? He might need changing." Henry nodded and got up, maneuvering the baby back into her arms.

"I'm gonna go play video games upstairs," he announced. At Isla's pleading look, he smiled and added, "you wanna come?" She nodded enthusiastically and soon enough they were heading upstairs. Henry didn't really want to leave her with them anyway, this little tiff could easily expand into a little Swan-Mills warfare knowing his moms.

Cradling their snuggly baby in her arms, Regina raised his body so she could plant a quick kiss on his head. He still had that clean baby smell and she adored it. She knew it wouldn't last long. "Right, baby. Shall we go see mommy?" she hummed. It amused her that the boy didn't even stir. He could sleep through anything.

Regina headed into the kitchen and upon seeing her wife's back to her (as she stirred something on the kitchen hob), she walked to the woman and planted a kiss just beneath her ear. She planted another slightly higher and Emma instantly smiled (it was one of her weak spots and they both knew it), swiveling around to kiss the woman properly. Emma moved as close as she could without leaning against the baby at all and took her lips against hers. Emma cupped her wife's jaw with her free hand as they kissed and left it there for a further moment once they'd pulled away.

"Feeling better, dear?" Regina asked.

"I'm fine," Emma sighed, though fairly happily this time. Her whole demeanor- shoulders hung, head slightly drooping, sore looking eyes- all screamed exhaustion. Regina hated nagging the woman for anything really, but it upset her to see her looking so deflated. Especially if it was preventable.

"I love you," Regina pecked her lips, "but you're not. And you being so defiant about it is making me more concerned than before. You've looked this terrible for days, Emma."

"Gee thanks," the woman's smile dropped to a scowl.

Regina used her free hand to cup her cheek. "You know what I mean. Is there a reason you aren't allowing yourself any rest?"

The saviour shook her head, still allowing her hand to remain there though. She sighed as she said, "I just don't want you to get tired."

Regina's mouth gaped open. "You're doing this for me?"

Feeling rumbled by herself, Emma pulled the sauce pot away from the heat and turned back to face her with crossed arms. She uncrossed them to run her hands back through her hair. "I've just been so worried we'd both get stressed and fight. Kind of like what we're doing now actually."

Regina sat down on one of the kitchen counter stools and adjusted Max so that his head rested on his shoulder, her free hand cradling it from behind. "Darling, you don't have to do this. Emma, we have three children, we've been through far more stressful situations than Christmas, what makes you think we suddenly can't handle it?"

"I'm just being insecure, okay. Happy?"

"No," Regina frowned, she wasn't happy. It suddenly struck her where these feelings could have rooted from. "It's what you said in the hospital isn't it." Emma didn't say anything so she continued, "you're afraid our whole family is going to break down with the stress somehow. You were worried it would be too much." Tears of concern came to her eyes at the thought that her wife had been feeling this way and not spoken to her about it. She hated the thought of Emma sufferring; at all. After putting their son securely in the kitchen table baby seat, she went and enclosed her arms around Emma.

"I know it's crazy," is all Emma could say. She held Regina tightly, revelling in the feeling of their soft jumpers adding to the warmth. Her arms always brought Emma home. Any of her children's really. When things felt off, all she needed was a family member's embrace and she felt safe again, home.

"It's not crazy, my love. God, Emma. I love you so much. We all do. So, so much." She rested their foreheads together. "I'll say this as many times as you need me too. We all will. We're not going anywhere. We're here and we're yours, my dear. We're your family."

Emma felt borderline psychotic at how much she'd needed that. Of course her family loved her. She knew that. There was always just a niggling feeling that everything could just _fall_. This was the longest time she'd ever had so many people stay in her life. Hell, it was the longest relationship of her life. She knew she had reason to be a little scared, she just wished she wasn't. "Thank you," she said quietly, irritated by the emotional crack in her voice. "I know i'm being crazy."

Regina shook her head immediately and gently raised her chin so she'd meet her eye. "You're not being crazy, Emma. It's okay to be afraid. Just don't shut me out. We can help each other with these things."

Emma planted a kiss on her forehead with a gentle smile. "It's ridiculous how much I love you, Regina."

"Show me later," Regina gave a devilish smirk. It faltered as she glanced back towards their sleeping child. "That's if he decides he's no longer nocturnal. And actually," she shook her head to herself. "You're not showing me later. You're sleeping."

Emma rolled her eyes with a smile and then walked over to him. "There's our little neglected baby," she grinned. She was pleasantly surprised as he chose that moment to awaken. His tiny face contorted from a fairly neutral expression to deeply unimpressed in an instant. He began cry loudly and Emma pulled him up into her arms. "I know," she rocked him. "I don't like being woken up either. I'm sorry." He continued to cry and she rocked him while looking over at Regina.

The brunette smiled sympathetically at their baby and retrieved the breast pump from the cupboard, praying Emma would use it and be able to sleep tonight. "Will you let me look after you from now on, please? So you can actually sleep for a change?"

Emma nodded with a gentle smile. "Fineee." As Max broke out into a fresh wave of wails, she resumed her rocking, realising she must have stopped. "I know, I'm sorry, baby boy."

"Can we swap?" Regina asked, holding the pump. Emma groaned and nodded. She much preferred the baby. They did as planned and Emma took a couple of baby bottles from the cupboard and sterilised them whilst her wife rocked the child. Once finished, she took them into the other room and Regina went to change the boy, realising it was probably the cause of his upset.

* * *

"I'm gonna whoop your ass at this," Henry said confidently as he loaded Mario Kart on his Wii. It certainly wasn't his most preferred game, or even preferred console, but it was the only one in which was Isla-appropriate so that is what they would play.

"Henry, you're not allowed to say that word," she whined.

"You're such a nerd!" he grinned as they began playing.

"Ugh!" she shoved him, quickly retrieving her remote so as she wouldn't fall off the edge of the Rainbow Road. Trust her brother to choose the hardest track for them. She wasn't stupid, she knew it was the worst.

Henry laughed smugly as Isla's Luigi did just that, and fell from the course. She scowled at him (mostly jokingly) and resumed her playing once she'd been returned to the track. "You're so annoying," she said grumpily.

"Nah."

"Just because you prefer Max..." She challenged him.

Henry glanced at her for a moment. "What makes you think I prefer Max? He can't even speak?"

She shrugged, eyes glued to the screen. She laughed triumphantly as his Mario slid from the track and he lost a life.

"Isla, I don't know if you're just saying that to distract me into falling off but I honestly don't prefer him. I don't have favourites."

She ignored him again to concentrate on the colourful hell her character was embarking on, moaning fiercely as her brother paused the game. "Henry!"

"I wanna talk to you!"

"What!"

Henry laughed then at how annoyed she'd become. She couldn't help but smile too and she shoved him again, more playful this time. She said more calmly, "What?"

"You're still my sister, Isla. Despite Max's new...existence. We've still had all of our years hanging out together you know?"

"Stop being an adult and just get to the point, Henry..." she said cheekily.

He raised his eyebrows for a moment and resumed what he was going to say. "He hasn't replaced you. For anyone. Our mom's still love you just as much. And me too, okay?"

"Yes!" She groaned. "Will you press play now?"

He smirked and nodded, doing so and falling off immediately as he hadn't mentally prepared himself for a change in road direction quickly enough.

With sighs of relief, they finally finished the course; coming in 7th and 8th... Henry only laughed before selecting another one. The faintly raised voices they'd heard downstairs had now dimmed to nothing. He wondered if they'd sorted their odd disagreement out. Emma being tired wasn't really a fight-worthy topic in his opinion but he didn't know if that was all it was. The pair often didn't let on things they were going through for the sake of Isla and well, supposedly him. They seemed to forget that he was seventeen years old and extremely perceptive. He'd also found in his years of observing them that their fights were occasionally far more complex than they were letting on. They fought fairly rarely now, certainly more rarely than when they'd first met, but they were occasionally quite explosive when they did. He didn't worry though, he knew how crazy they still were about each other. Going into their room unannounced too many times in the past few months had certainly confirmed that. The thought alone made him grimace.

Apparently Isla was thinking of their parents also as she suddenly asked, "you think they're okay?"

He focussed on dropping a banana on the kart behind him before nodding. "Yeah. They always sort themselves out. You know that."

"Why do you think they argued so much just then?"

She was mainly referring to their raised voices. "They're just tired. Things will be fine, I promise." His sister didn't respond and he looked over to see her devilishly smiling at the screen. He followed her gaze to see that she was being carried by the flying bullet halfway around her lap. She screamed triumphantly as she finished in 1st.

* * *

Mary Margaret and David arrived an hour or so later and gave their daughter, daughter-in-law and their family their Christmas presents. Henry cheerfully put them under the tree. Under Regina's instruction, Isla gave them their presents proudly and her grandparents hugged her thankfully in response.

As they all filtered into the kitchen, Isla watched with relief as her mother quickly gave her other mother a casual chaste kiss. The brunette parent smiled in response before turning back around to plate up their dinner. The girl hopped up onto her seat and gave a big smile to Emma.

"...Yes?" Emma asked with a nervous smile. Mary Margaret looked over with amusement as she sat down. David was at the other side of the table cooing over Max.

"I'm just happy you two are happy," Isla nodded to her mother cheerfully.

Emma noticed her mother's furrowed brow to the left of Isla. "We had a little argument earlier," she explained, looking back at her daughter too for a moment.

"You did? What about?"

David was listening also by this point. Henry was at the other side of the room helping Regina with assembling the dinner and drinks.

"Regina wants me to take it easy. I protested and we argued a little."

" _A little_?" Regina challenged her with a raised eyebrow.

"Moms..." Henry warned them.

Emma shook her head with a smirk. "Okay, we argued quite a bit. But Regina is _obviously_ fabulous and helped me see the light so we're in agreement now."

"Well said, dear," Regina smirked and planted a kiss to her head on her way past.

Henry came over and sat down. Emma watched as her daughter gave him a not-so-subtle thumbs up. "Were you two talking about us before?" she asked her eldest children.

The teenager nodded, adjusting his jumper for a moment with his fingertips. His was blue with a snowy village scene on the front. "Just airing our concerns," he smirked. "Over Mario Kart..."

"You two do that?" Regina asked. "Why don't you talk to us about your concerns?"

Emma raised her eyebrows. "Do you two keep secrets together?"

Isla widened her eyes and bit her lip. Her and Henry had broken many things in the past and kept it a secret together. Isla always went to him when she'd done something wrong hoping he'd find a way to cover it up. It often worked and it resulted in them having tons of secrets.

Seeing his granddaughter's sudden panic, David smiled. "Emma, they're allowed their secrets," he said. "We all know you've probably not told us all of yours."

"Hey!" she challenged. Henry smirked, loving how this had been turned around on her.

"I just had character, okay? Some things are better left unsaid."

Regina raised her eyebrows at that, wondering whether it was something which had been shared with her before or not. She was just curious now. As was Henry judging by his raised eyebrows.

"Anyway," Regina said loudly, noticing Emma's rouge cheeks. "I hope you two appreciate our jumpers,"she addressed her apparent 'in-laws'. It still felt weird considering them in that way. It gave her a headache to think of all their family ties.

David chuckled as he looked around, properly taking them all in. "They're lovely. We appreciate the effort." Mary Margaret smiled in agreement.

For the next hour or so the group chatted happily amongst themselves as they ate, occasionally laughing at their various recent misfortunes. A prime example being Pongo trying to run again once Emma had retrieved him and the dog pulling her over into a large heap of mud. ' _I was just thankful it was only mud_!' She had said, a fresh eruption of laughter breaking out.

After dinner was finished, the group all had some of Regina's famous apple turnover. The brunette always got a raised eyebrow from Emma at that one. They drank mulled wine, even allowing Henry to have a small cup. Isla was sadly restricted to only hot blackcurrant.

The moon shone high in the dark sky and it was almost midnight now. Their guests had returned home and everyone was in their beds, Isla and Henry happily thinking about the number of sleeps until Christmas. Even Max had fallen asleep at an appropriate time. They'd managed to keep him up all evening at the hope that he'd sleep later.

Regina lay with Emma curled into her side. She savoured her evening snuggles with the woman. They had significantly less time together now and they were both missing on another's company. Eleven p.m onwards was their only real time alone together now. They'd known this would be the case from the very first moment Regina fell pregnant with Isla so they certainly didn't hold it against their children- they adored their babies, immensely. Even the seventeen year old. They just occasionally missed how much time they used to have with one another when it was just the three of them; either screwing up or saving their town together on a day-to-day basis.

Emma traced shapes on Regina's stomach. She'd managed to subtly sneak her hand under her pyjama top and now the action was too comforting for Regina to want to reprimand her for it. With a soft hum, Emma said, "thank you for doing all the cooking tonight. You really could have let me help."

Regina shook her head and planted a kiss to her wife's forehead. "It's nothing, dear. I'm just glad you finally got to relax a little."

"You're beyond perfect," Emma sighed happily against her chest.

Regina blushed and smiled. "We both know that's not true, dear."

The saviour leaned up and took her lips. She rested their foreheads together once they'd pulled away. "No, I mean it. You know I mean it."

Regina nodded her head softly against her. "I know you do."

Emma looked at her deep brown eyes. Regina's astounding beauty still struck her. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, my darling. Now get some rest, dear," she smiled. The saviour stretched her body before nestling even closer to her. They could hear the gentle snores of their son sleeping in his cot. They couldn't wait to spend their first Christmas with him. They couldn't believe they'd added another beautiful addition to their family. They were so blessed.

"Can I have one more kiss?" Emma asked quietly. Regina grinned and nodded, leaning down to take her lips one last time before sleep attempted to steal them both.

The last thing Emma heard before submitting to slumber was the Storybrooke clock tower chime midnight.


End file.
